Nisoldipine coat-core is an extended-release once-daily formulation of a dihydropyridine calcium antagonist effective in the treatment of chronic stable angina pectoris. With immediate-release formulations of nisoldipine, plasma drug concentrations that produce therapeutic effects result rapidly, but are not sustained and do not maintain the effects throughout a 12-hour dosage interval. In contrast, with nisoldipine coat-core, a gradual increase in plasma nisoldipine concentrations occurs over 12 hours and therapeutic concentrations are then maintained for the duration of a 24-hour dosage interval. In dosages of 10 to 60 mg once daily, nisoldipine coat-core controls symptoms of angina and improves exercise-induced signs of ischaemia in patients with stable angina. Compared with placebo, daily nisoldipine coat-core doses of > or = 20 mg provide statistically significant increases in total exercise time and time to produce angina and a trend towards an increase in the time to produce 1 mm ST segment depression, in exercise tests conducted approximately 23 hours postdose. When administered in 20 and 40 mg daily doses, nisoldipine coat-core produces improvements in exercise test parameters that are similar to those seen with amlodipine 5 or 10 mg/day or regular-release or sustained-release (SR) diltiazem 240 mg/day. The frequency of daily angina attacks and consumption of short-acting nitrates are also reduced by nisoldipine to a similar extent to that observed with these other agents. After longer term (1 year) administration of 10 to 60 mg daily, improvements in exercise test parameters are maintained, with equivalent anti-ischaemic efficacy seen in patients receiving nisoldipine coat-core alone or with background nitrate or beta-blocker therapy. Adverse events associated with nisoldipine coat-core are typical of the dihydropyridine class of calcium antagonists, with peripheral oedema and headache being most common. Nisoldipine coat-core appears to be associated with fewer deaths than placebo, notably in the DEFIANT-II (Doppler Flow and Echocardiography in Functional Cardiac Insufficiency: Assessment of Nisoldipine Therapy II) study, where only 1 death occurred with nisoldipine compared with 7 in the placebo group. Nisoldipine should not be taken during phenytoin therapy. In addition, grapefruit juice should be avoided during nisoldipine therapy and nisoldipine should not be taken concurrently with high-fat meals. Thus, the coat-core formulation of nisoldipine appears to have overcome the limitations of the shorter duration of action of immediate-release nisoldipine. Nisoldipine coat-core is well tolerated and once-daily administration produces a long duration of effective anti-ischaemic relief in patients with chronic stable angina pectoris.