Ranolazine: a new antianginal agent with a novel mechanism of action

This animation (with audio) illustrates the mechanism of action of ranolazine (RANEXA), a novel antianginal drug that inhibits the late sodium current (late I Na) in cardiac myocytes. The animation first describes how the late sodium current can contribute to symptoms of myocardial ischemia by causing sodium-induced calcium overload through the effects of high intracellular concentrations of sodium on the sodium-calcium exchanger. The animation then shows how ranolazine inhibits late sodium current and thereby reduces sodium-induced calcium overload. The effects of ranolazine on the myocardium are to reduce myocardial ischemia without affecting heart rate or blood pressure. The long version of the animation (6 min 17 sec) includes background regarding sodium and ion fluxes in the normal myocardium. The short version (2 min 47 sec) focuses on sodium and calcium fluxes in the ischemic myocardium, and the effects on myocardial contractile activity. Each version is available in three image qualities: low, medium, and full quality. Long Version, Full (18 MB): http://ir.utah.edu/blumenthal/ranolazine/ranolazine_MOA_long_full.mov