Ranolazine effectively reduced chest pain and sublingual nitroglycerin use among diabetes patients with chronic angina, researchers reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

In January, 2006, ranolazine (Ranexa) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat chronic angina pectoris.

The randomized, double-blind trial is the first of its kind to assess the effectiveness of ranolazine in reducing chest pain among people with diabetes.

There are currently over 347 million diabetics in the world; nearly 90 percent them have diabetes type 2, which is caused by the body either not producing enough insulin, or not using insulin properly.

People with diabetes tend to experience chest pain or angina more severely than the rest of the population.

The trial included two groups of patients, they were randomly selected into:

  • the ranzolazine group

    • or

  • the placebo group

The trial lasted for eight weeks.

In order to qualify to participate in the study the patients had to have type 2 diabetes as well as experiencing at least one episode of angina per week.

They were all given an electronic diary to record their episodes of angina.

The participants in the ranolazine group experienced significantly fewer episodes of angina (chest pain) per week than those who took placebo.

Patients in the ranolazine group also required less sublingual nitroglycerin. The incidence of serious adverse events was the same in both groups.

According to the lead author of the study, Dr. Kosiborod, from Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, Kansas City:

“Angina is associated with worse quality of life, increased risk of hospitalization and higher health care costs, and appears to be more prevalent in patients with diabetes.

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.”

Most of the patients suffered from hypertension (96 percent) and 74 percent had experienced a heart attack.

Ranolazine was particularly effective among those who had bad glucose control, the researchers measured their hemoglobin a1c (Hba1c) levels. Measuring Hba1c levels gives doctors a good idea about a patient’s overall glucose control.

Dr. Kosiborod concluded:

“Ranolazine is an effective anti-anginal drug in patients with diabetes, and may also have a glucose-lowering effect. If the glucose-lowering action of ranolazine is confirmed in future studies, patients with diabetes and angina may derive a dual benefit from this drug.”

Written by Joseph Nordqvist