IN 1995, the Cardiorenal Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Administration, after a lengthy deliberation, unanimously decided that sublingual nifedipine should not officially be approved for the treatment of hypertensive emergencies. Despite this decision and despite authoritative voices1-4 warning against this practice, the use of short-acting nifedipine for what was perceived as hypertensive emergencies remained widespread in the United States and all over the globe.