Diltiazem HCL

Diltiazem hydrochloride. If you’ve been in cardiology or internal medicine for more than a week, you know this name. It’s one of those foundational agents, a workhorse we reach for without a second thought for rate control in atrial fibrillation, for angina, for hypertension. But how often do we stop to really think about its journey from molecule to medicine, about the nuances that make it sing in one patient and fall flat in another?