Verapamil, sold under various trade names, is a calcium channel blocker medication used for the treatment of high blood pressure, angina (chest pain from not enough blood flow to the heart), and supraventricular tachycardia. It may also be used for the prevention of migraines and cluster headaches. It is given by mouth or by injection into a vein.Common side effects include headache, low blood pressure, nausea, and constipation. Other side effects include allergic reactions and muscle pains. It is not recommended in people with a slow heart rate or heart failure. It is believed to cause problems for the fetus if used during pregnancy. It is in the non–dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker family of medications.Verapamil was approved for medical use in the United States in 1981. It is on the World Health Organizations List of Essential Medicines. Verapamil is available as a generic medication. Long acting formulations exist. In 2019, it was the 141st most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 4 million prescriptions. Medical uses
Verapamil is used for controlling ventricular rate in supraventricular tachycardia and migraine headache prevention. It is a class-IV antiarrhythmic and more effective than digoxin in controlling ventricular rate. Verapamil is not listed as a first line agent by the guidelines provided by JAMA in JNC-8. However, it may be used to treat hypertension if patient has co-morbid atrial fibrillation or other types of arrhythmia.Verapamil is also used intra-arterially to treat cerebral vasospasm. Verapamil is used to treat the condition cluster headache.
Uses in cell biology
Verapamil inhibits the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter family of proteins found in stem cells and has been used to study cancer stem cells (CSC) within head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.Verapamil is also used in cell biology as an inhibitor of drug efflux pump proteins such as P-glycoprotein and other ABC transporter proteins. This is useful, as many tumor cell lines overexpress drug efflux pumps, limiting the effectiveness of cytotoxic drugs or fluorescent tags. It is also used in fluorescent cell sorting for DNA content, as it blocks efflux of a variety of DNA-binding fluorophores such as Hoechst 33342. Radioactively labelled verapamil and positron emission tomography can be used with to measure P-glycoprotein function. See also
Gallopamil
Tiapamil

References
External links
"Verapamil". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine. "Verapamil hydrochloride". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine.