The effects of a new dihydropyridine slow-channel calcium blocking agent, nitrendipine, on hemodynamics and myocardial blood flow in normal and ischemic areas distal to either an acute or chronic coronary artery occlusion were studied in anesthetized dogs. Nitrendipine produced significant and dose-related decreases in mean aortic blood pressure and increases in flow through the nonobstructed coronary artery. In acute coronary artery occlusion experiments, only small changes in perfusion of the ischemic zone were observed following nitrendipine. On the other hand, in dogs with a chronic coronary artery occlusion and well-developed collateral circulation, nitrendipine produced significant and dose-related increases in subepicardial perfusion within the central ischemic zone. No change in subendocardial blood flow during drug-induced hypotension was observed, but when aortic pressure was held constant, there was an increase in subepicardial, subendocardial, and overall transmural myocardial perfusion. The data demonstrate that nitrendipine improves oxygen supply to collateral-dependent myocardium via an increase in coronary collateral blood flow in a model of chronic coronary occlusion.