Assay of Anti-Anginal Agents

Abstract

The measure of an anti-anginal agent is its ability to decrease chest pain. Because of the subjective character of pain, extreme care is necessary in choosing patients upon whom anti-anginal medication is to be tested. We have used the double-blind technic and an initial control period to neutralize the many extraneous mental and physical factors, such as bias or the patient-physician relationship itself, that might interfere with an accurate appraisal. This study shows, in addition, that proper evaluation of an anti-anginal agent requires that its effect be measured against multiple control periods without medication throughout the various phases of angina pectoris.