What is ranolazine primarily used for?

Ranolazine is primarily used for the management of chronic stable angina, which is chest pain or discomfort that occurs due to reduced blood flow to the heart. Its mechanism of action involves modifying myocardial metabolism, which helps to improve oxygen delivery to the heart muscle and reduce angina symptoms. While it can be used as an adjunct therapy in patients with other cardiovascular conditions, such as stable atrial fibrillation, its primary indication is for chronic stable angina.

Using ranolazine in conjunction with other treatments can help improve outcomes for patients experiencing these forms of angina. The importance of ranolazine lies in its ability to enhance the effectiveness of other antianginal medications without significantly affecting heart rate or blood pressure, making it a valuable addition to the therapeutic regimen for stable angina.

The other options relate to different conditions where ranolazine is not the primary therapy: hypertension treatment typically involves other classes of antihypertensive medications, chronic heart failure management usually requires a combination of diuretics, ACE inhibitors, or beta-blockers, and while ranolazine may have a potential benefit in reducing myocardial infarction risk, it is not primarily indicated for that purpose.