Impact of Ranolazine on Myocardial Ischemia Detected by High-Field 3T Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CMR) Imaging and P-31 Spectroscopy

Specific Aim: To determine in patients with stable coronary artery disease with documented inducible ischemia, if treatment with ranolazine leads to reduced intracellular ischemia as detected by CMR perfusion imaging and 31P spectroscopy at 3 Tesla. Abstract: Despite many advances in cardiovascular medicine for patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), many patients in the United States continue to have the morbidity and mortality associated with chronic stable angina. Ranolazine is a novel late sodium current inhibitor shown to be effective in treating angina in patients with chronic stable coronary artery disease without affecting the blood pressure heart rate product. It has been shown to reduce myocardial energy utilization by enhancing diastolic myocardial relaxation and possibly by increasing myocardial blood flow. While ranolazine has been demonstrated to improve size and severity of stress-induced myocardial perfusion defects, it's direct effect on myocardial metabolism and cellular ischemia has not been tested in humans. We propose using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) and phosphorous-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P MRS) to evaluate patients with chronic stable angina before and after 4 weeks of a stable dose of ranolazine to detect changes in myocardial blood flow, ventricular function, myocardial scar and metabolic parameters of cellular ischemia.