Calcium is believed to be responsible for initiating a deleterious cascade of events that leads to irreversible cell injury during prolonged ischemia. Theoretically, the calcium-dependent cascade of events can be interrupted at three distinct points: a) by reducing calcium inflow into the cytosol using a calcium channel blocker such as verapamil, b) by increasing the mitochondrial capacity to sequester calcium using ethane-1-hydroxy-1:1-diphosphonic acid (EHDP), and c) by inhibiting the activation of the calcium-calmodulin complex using trifluoperazine (TFP). To evaluate the protective role of these agents in prolonged ischemia, 190 unilaterally nephrectomized rats underwent total occlusion of the renal artery for 90 min. One hour before surgery, all the rats received an i.p. injection of either saline or one of the drugs. Of the 190 rats, 130 were used to determine survival and optimal drug doses; the remaining 60 rats were used to determine blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine at 40 h and 5 days after surgery. Only 33% of the rats in the control group survived for 10 days. However, 87.5% (P less than 0.005), 90% (P less than 0.005), and 60% (P less than 0.01) of the rats pretreated with verapamil, TFP and EHDP respectively survived for 10 days. No differences, however, were seen in renal function tests among the control, TFP or EHDP groups. This suggests that calcium antagonists are successful in protecting the kidney from prolonged ischemic injury despite impaired renal function tests. It may also indicate that these agents delay or prevent the ischemic cells from undergoing irreversible damage.