The Role of Ranolazine for the Treatment of Residual Angina beyond the Percutaneous Coronary Revascularization

Introduction. Despite a successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), several studies reported that the recurrence of angina after revascularization, even complete, is a particularly frequent occurrence in the first year after PCI. Methods. The aim was to evaluate the efficacy of treatment with ranolazine in addition to conventional anti-ischemic therapy in patients who underwent coronary angiography for persistent/recurrent angina after PCI and residual ischemia only due to small branches not suitable for further revascularization. Forty-nine consecutive patients were included in our registry, adding the ranolazine (375 mg b.i.d) to optimal medical therapy (OMT). The Exercise ECG Test (EET) was performed in all patients before to start the therapy (baseline BL) and at 30 days (T1) after enrollment. Results. The average duration of the exercise was increased after the therapy with ranolazine comparing to baseline (RG 9’1” ± 2’ versus BL 8’10” ± 2’, p = 0.01). Seven (14.3%) patients after receiving ranolazine had not crossed the threshold of six minutes (75 watts) compared to 20 (40.8%) of BL (p = 0.0003). Stress angina appeared more frequently at BL than at 30 days (T1 4.1% versus BL 16.3%, p = 0.04) as well as exercise-induced arrhythmias (BL 30.6% versus T1 14.3%, p = 0.05). Conclusions. The addition of ranolazine to standard anti-ischemic therapy showed a significant improvement in EET results after one month of therapy, including reduced exercise angina, increased exercise tolerance, and reduced exercise arrhythmias.