In this article the spectrum and frequency of adverse effects of some drugs used in the treatment of ischemic heart disease are presented. The adverse effects of the nitrates are unaffected by the chemical form or by the route of administration and appear to be similar for the individual drugs, such as glyceryl trinitrate, isosorbide dinitrate and isosorbide-5-mononitrate. Generalized vasodilatation produces some common mild adverse effects, such as headache, flushing and palpitation, which are most often experienced during the early treatment period and to which a degree of tolerance occurs. Trimetazidine controls myocardial ischaemia through intracellular metabolic changes and has been reported in most studies to be very well tolerated. The most common adverse effects for ivabradine are bradycaria and visual symptoms, including phosphens, which are in fact rare.