Ranolazine reduces chest pain in patients with type 2 diabetes and angina, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology, held from March 9 to 11 in San Francisco.
Noting that ranolazine has been shown to be effective for treating angina, Mikhail Kosiborod, M.D., of Saint Luke’s Mid American Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo., and colleagues conducted a multicenter, randomized, double-blind trial involving 927 patients with type 2 diabetes (mean duration 7.5 years), coronary artery disease, and stable angina requiring treatment. Participants were randomly allocated to eight weeks of ranolazine (1,000 mg twice daily) or matching placebo. The number of angina episodes was recorded using an electronic diary and was transmitted daily.
Daily diary compliance was 98% and adherence to the study drug was 94%. The researchers found that weekly episodes of chest pain were lower in the ranolazine group versus the placebo group (3.8 vs. 4.3 episodes). Use of sublingual nitroglycerin was also lower in the ranolazine group (1.7 vs. 2.1 doses per week). Ranolazine was more effective in patients with worse glucose control.
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“Ranolazine is an effective anti-anginal drug in patients with diabetes and may also have a glucose-lowering effect,” Kosiborod said in a statement. “While ranolazine was shown to be effective in reducing angina in prior studies, this is the first time it has been prospectively evaluated in patients with diabetes — a high-risk and therapeutically challenging group.”
The study was funded by Gilead Sciences, which manufactures ranolazine.
