Ranolazine treatment for myocardial infarction? Effects on the development of necrosis, left ventricular function and arrhythmias in experimental models.

Ranolazine, an inhibitor of the late current of the cardiac action potential (late I(Na)), is a well established clinical treatment for chronic angina. The late INa in cardiac myocytes also plays an important role in the pathophysiology of acute myocardial ischemia and reperfusion, and thus is a potential therapeutic target to ameliorate consequences of myocardial infarction. In experimental animal models, ranolazine has been shown to reduce myocardial infarct size, improve left ventricular function, decrease ischemia/reperfusion-induced arrhythmias and improve outcome in heart failure. Here we focus specifically on data from in vivo animal studies of myocardial ischemia and reperfusion.