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Ranolazine and Pulmonary Hypertension

Effects of Ranolazine in Patients With Angina Due to Right Ventricular Ischemia in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT01174173
Enrollment
11
Registered
2010-08-03
Start date
2010-06-30
Completion date
2014-10-31
Last updated
2018-05-11

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Angina, Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Keywords

Angina, Right Ventricular Ischemia, Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, Pulmonary Hypertension

Brief summary

The purpose of the study is to determine if the medication, ranolazine (study drug), can help improve blood flow to your heart, increase your exercise capacity and improve your quality of life (QOL). For this study, you will be asked to perform several tests in order to determine if your heart function, exercise capacity, chest pain and QOL have improved after 3 months of treatment with ranolazine. Ranolazine is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of angina.

Detailed description

This study is looking to enroll patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). PH is abnormally high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs. It makes the right side of the heart need to work harder than normal and is usually caused by a narrowing of the small arteries of the lung. This narrowing makes it harder for the right side of the heart to circulate the blood to the lungs. Over time, the right side of the heart may become enlarged and symptoms (such as angina \[chest pain\] shortness of breath, fatigue, edema) begin to appear. Ranolazine is a safe, well-tolerated, and FDA-approved medication for the treatment of chronic stable angina. Ranolazine may potentially improve blood flow to the right ventricle (RV), thereby relieving angina while simultaneously improving RV performance and contractility. This latter effect may increase stroke volume and cardiac output which could translate into benefits in exercise capacity and improved quality of life. The purpose of this single center, non-randomized, prospective pilot study is to investigate the effects of 3 months treatment with ranolazine on pulmonary artery hemodynamics, exercise capacity and quality of life in patients with PAH and symptoms of angina or angina equivalent.

Interventions

DRUGRanolazine

ranolazine 1000 mg PO BID for 3 months

Sponsors

Gilead Sciences
CollaboratorINDUSTRY
Northwestern University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. World Health Organization (WHO) Group 1 PAH, defined as a pulmonary hypertension with mean pulmonary artery pressure \> 25 mmHg, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure \< 15 mmHg, and pulmonary vascular resistance \> 3 Wood units. 2. Right ventricular dysfunction, defined as RV fractional area change \< 32% or RV tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) \< 15 mm. 3. Symptoms of angina or angina equivalent (exertional dyspnea, exertional epigastric pain, exertional nausea). 4. New York Heart Association functional class II or III symptoms. 5. Stable doses of pulmonary vasodilators (prostacyclins, endothelin receptor antagonists, phosphodiesterase inhibitors), with no new therapy initiation or dose escalation \> 50% in the 4 weeks prior to randomization. 6. Age 18-80 years.

Exclusion criteria

1. Acute coronary syndrome or coronary revascularization within the prior 3 months. 2. Patients with unstable angina. 3. Patients with Class IV congestive heart failure. 4. Planned revascularization, pacemaker or defibrillator placement during the study period. 5. Changes in antianginal medical therapy likely to occur during the study period. 6. Corrected QT interval measurement \>500 ms. 7. Patients with pre-existing QT prolongation (including congenital long QT syndrome) or receiving other QT prolonging drugs (including Class Ia-e.g., quinidine, Class III-e.g., dofetilide, sotalol, antiarrhythmics; antipsychotics (e.g., thioridazine, ziprasidone), or known history of complex ventricular arrhythmias requiring antiarrhythmic medications or ICD implantation. 8. Patients with known history of hepatic dysfunction. 9. Current use of strong CYP3A inhibitors, including ketoconazole, itraconazole, clarithromycin, nefazodone, nelfinavir, ritonavir, indinavir, saquinavir and diltizaem. 10. Patients with pacemakers, cochlear implants, aneurysm clips, who have worked with metal. 11. Patients with metallic hardware, implants, or prostheses will consult with the radiologist/cardiologist prior to the study. 12. Patients with severe or end stage renal disease (an estimated GFR \< 30 mL/min/1.73 m). 13. Women who are pregnant or lactating 14. Any contraindications for the use of a right heart catheter including, but not limited to: * Pulmonic or tricuspid valve stenosis * Prosthetic pulmonic or tricuspid valve * Right atrial or ventricular masses * Previous pneumonectomy * Risk of severe arrhythmias, including left bundle branch block (LBBB) 15. Subjects unable to perform cardiopulmonary exercise testing will be excluded (i.e. extensive musculoskeletal disease)

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Improve Angina Symptoms3 monthsAssessed as average improvement in WHO Functional Class. The WHO Functional Class score ranges from 1 to 4, with higher scores indicating more impairment
6-Minute Walk Test3 MonthsImprove Exercise Capacity measured by 6-Minute Walk Test
Improve Quality of Life3 MonthsThe Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire is a 23-item, self-administered instrument that quantifies physical function, symptoms (frequency, severity and recent change), social function, self-efficacy and knowledge, and quality of life. The scores are averaged and transformed to a range of 0-100, in which higher scores reflect better health status and was performed at the conclusion of the study.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
RV Perfusion on Cardiac MRI3 monthsThe majority of patients did not undergo cardiac MRI because it was difficult for the patients to tolerate the imaging study. Therefore, we were not able to assess change in RV perfusion.
Absolute RV Longitudinal Strain3 monthsChange in absolute right ventricular (RV) longitudinal strain as assessed by exercise stress echocardiography with speckle-tracking echocardiography at baseline and conclusion of the study. An increase in exercise-induced change in RV longitudinal strain between baseline to conclusion of the study is indicative of improved RV function. If absolute RV longitudinal strain increases with exercise, that is a sign that the RV is working well. If absolute RV longitudinal strain decreases with exercise, that is a sign that the RV is not working well. Therefore, between baseline and conclusion of the study, if exercise-induced change in RV strain increases that means that the RV is working better at the conclusion of the study.
Right Ventricular Hemodynamics3 monthsMean pulmonary artery pressure was assessed invasively by right heart catheterization at the conclusion of the study to estimate right ventricular hemodynamics.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Ranolazine
1000 mg PO BID Ranolazine: ranolazine 1000 mg PO BID for 3 months
11
Total11

Withdrawals & dropouts

PeriodReasonFG000
Overall Studydrug-drug interaction1

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicRanolazine
6-minute walk test383 meters
STANDARD_DEVIATION 60
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
0 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
1 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
10 Participants
Age, Continuous48 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 13
Exercise stress echocardiography with strain63 Ejection Fraction (%)
STANDARD_DEVIATION 5
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
5 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
5 Participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
11 participants
Right heart catheterization48 Mean pulmonary artery pressure (mm Hg)
STANDARD_DEVIATION 14
Sex: Female, Male
Female
8 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
3 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
— / —
other
Total, other adverse events
6 / 11
serious
Total, serious adverse events
1 / 11

Outcome results

Primary

6-Minute Walk Test

Improve Exercise Capacity measured by 6-Minute Walk Test

Time frame: 3 Months

Population: Analysis was performed in all participants who completed the study and had a 6-minute walk test at baseline and at the conclusion of the study.

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
Ranolazine6-Minute Walk Test419 metersStandard Deviation 80
p-value: 0.09t-test, 2 sided
Primary

Improve Angina Symptoms

Assessed as average improvement in WHO Functional Class. The WHO Functional Class score ranges from 1 to 4, with higher scores indicating more impairment

Time frame: 3 months

Population: Analysis was performed on all participants who completed as average change in WHO Functional class score from baseline to 3 months (Baseline, 3 months)

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
RanolazineImprove Angina Symptoms1.75 units on a scaleStandard Deviation 0.46
p-value: 0.0013t-test, 2 sided
Primary

Improve Quality of Life

The Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire is a 23-item, self-administered instrument that quantifies physical function, symptoms (frequency, severity and recent change), social function, self-efficacy and knowledge, and quality of life. The scores are averaged and transformed to a range of 0-100, in which higher scores reflect better health status and was performed at the conclusion of the study.

Time frame: 3 Months

Population: Analysis was performed on the 8 participants who completed the KCCQ questionnaire at baseline and at the conclusion of the study (month 3)

ArmMeasureGroupValue (MEAN)Dispersion
RanolazineImprove Quality of LifeBaseline60.3 KCCQ Summary ScoreStandard Deviation 19.7
RanolazineImprove Quality of LifeMonth 364.2 KCCQ Summary ScoreStandard Deviation 17.5
p-value: 0.37t-test, 2 sided
Secondary

Absolute RV Longitudinal Strain

Change in absolute right ventricular (RV) longitudinal strain as assessed by exercise stress echocardiography with speckle-tracking echocardiography at baseline and conclusion of the study. An increase in exercise-induced change in RV longitudinal strain between baseline to conclusion of the study is indicative of improved RV function. If absolute RV longitudinal strain increases with exercise, that is a sign that the RV is working well. If absolute RV longitudinal strain decreases with exercise, that is a sign that the RV is not working well. Therefore, between baseline and conclusion of the study, if exercise-induced change in RV strain increases that means that the RV is working better at the conclusion of the study.

Time frame: 3 months

Population: Analysis was performed on all participants who completed exercise stress echocardiography at baseline and conclusion of the study (month 3)

ArmMeasureGroupValue (MEAN)Dispersion
RanolazineAbsolute RV Longitudinal StrainBaseline-1.4 percentageStandard Deviation 0.7
RanolazineAbsolute RV Longitudinal StrainMonth 31.0 percentageStandard Deviation 0.5
p-value: 0.037t-test, 2 sided
Secondary

Right Ventricular Hemodynamics

Mean pulmonary artery pressure was assessed invasively by right heart catheterization at the conclusion of the study to estimate right ventricular hemodynamics.

Time frame: 3 months

Population: Analysis was performed on all participants who completed right heart catheterization at the conclusion of the study

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
RanolazineRight Ventricular Hemodynamics48 mm HgStandard Deviation 6
p-value: 0.66t-test, 2 sided
Secondary

RV Perfusion on Cardiac MRI

The majority of patients did not undergo cardiac MRI because it was difficult for the patients to tolerate the imaging study. Therefore, we were not able to assess change in RV perfusion.

Time frame: 3 months

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 7, 2026