In January 2006, the FDA approved ranolazine (Ranexa) for the treatment of chronic angina, the most common form of angina (chest pain). Some form of angina affects close to 7 million Americans. Ranolazine is the only new drug approved for angina in more than a decade.
Clinical trials have shown that ranolazine significantly increased the duration of exercise and the length of time prior to the onset of angina during exercise; reduced the number of angina attacks each week; reduced the need for nitroglycerin; and showed fewer ischemic changes in the electrocardiogram (ECG) during exercise tests.
The drug is available as sustained-release tablets taken twice daily. The most common side effects are dizziness, nausea, constipation, headache, and weakness. Ranolazine may prolong the QT interval (a measurement of ventricle function) seen on an ECG, and should not be taken by people whose QT interval is already too long or who are taking other drugs that lengthen the QT interval.
Ranolazine should not be used to replace other standard drugs for angina. Rather, the new drug is considered for patients with chronic angina in whom other anti-anginal drugs cannot be tolerated or are ineffective.