67% of diabetic angina patients see quality of life gains with ranolazine

Many diabetic patients with chronic stable angina who are treated with ranolazine report an improvement to their quality of life. The findings, which were published June 2 in JAMA Internal Medicine, follow up on results that showed the drug reduced frequency of angina events.

Building on the Type 2 Diabetes Evaluation of Ranolazine in Subjects with Chronic Stable Angina (TERISA) study, researchers returned to their data to determine if quality of life also had been affected by ranolazine (Gilead Sciences). They reviewed the results of electronic diaries and patient assessment questionnaires taken at baseline and after eight weeks.

“These data complement our prior reports of reduced angina frequency using an electronic diary by revealing that, from patients’ perspectives, multiple health status domains improved more with ranolazine than with placebo,” wrote lead author Suzanne V. Arnold, MD, MHA, from St. Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute of Kansas City, Mo.

The initial research was performed at 104 sites in 14 countries and encompassed a 949 patient set. The Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ), Rose Dyspnea Scale and the Medical Outcomes Short Form-36 component scores were utilized to assess patients’ quality of life, with each test tempered to make it country and linguistically specific. In the ranolazine group, 67 percent of patients saw at least a 10-point improvement in their responses to the SAQ from baseline, which researchers considered significant.

“A greater percentage of patients treated with ranolazine vs. placebo had at least a 10-point improvement in SAQ angina frequency scores (67% vs 58%), suggesting that 11 patients need to be treated with ranolazine for 1 to experience a clinically significant improvement in angina,” Arnold et al stated. “The number needed to treat was lower among patients taking more antianginals (17 vs 8 for 1 vs 2 medications) and among patients with more angina at baseline.”

The researchers reported the population to be mostly European, and therefore more racial diversity will be needed in future research. Arnold et al, however, stated that given the results of these assessments, they believe ranolazine an effective treatment for severe angina in type 2 diabetics, particularly for those patients taking one or more antianginals.