The· first meeting of the cardiovascular drug therapy forum took place on April 13-15, 1988 in Montreux, Switzerland. In this meeting, which was closed to the public, approximately 150 leading investigators in the field of cardiovascular drug therapy, both academics and from the pharmaceutical industry, discussed the state of the art and future trends of this rapidly expanding field. The discussions concentrated on four major topics: (1) ischemic heart disease; (2) heart failure; (3) hyper­ tension; (4) arrhythmias. These topics were discussed by four committees in parallel, and thereafter the main points were reviewed by the whole forum. This framework allowed both intensive and interdisciplinary discussions. This book, the first publication of selected topics from the meeting, focuses mainly on nitrate therapy in ischemic heart disease and heart failure. Adam Schneeweiss, MD Chairman v Contents Opening Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Presentation of the Sir Thomas Lauder Brunton Award for Outstanding Nitrate Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Origins of Symptoms in Heart Failure - Relevance in Evaluation of New Drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Mononitrates in Congestive Heart Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Are There Differences Between the Various Formulations of Nitrates in Heart Failure? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Long-Term Nitrate Therapy - A Decade of Changing Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Nitrate Therapy in Angina Pectoris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Mononitrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Transdermal Administration of Nitrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Nitrates in Angina Pectoris - Rationale of Use and Avoidance of Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Treatment of Congestive Heart Failure - Summary . . . . . . . .