Pharmacotherapeutic approaches targeting stable angina: simple solutions to complex problems

Cardiovascular diseases, especially coronary heart disease (CHD), are the leading cause of disability; various registry data show that the annual mortality rate of such patients is 2–3%. This explains the interest of practitioners in the pharmacotherapy of stable forms of coronary artery disease using current progress in the understanding of the pathogenesis of this disease and treatment compliance. Features of the pathogenesis of CHD in the form of increased myocardial oxygen demand, increased pre- and afterload on the performance of the heart necessitate the prescription of rhythm-reducing drugs such as beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, ivabradine or their combinations, as well as nitric-containing drugs; trimetazidine, ranolazine for the purpose of myocardial cytoprotection. However, the use of hemodynamic drugs (beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers) does not always effectively relieve the symptoms of angina pectoris, even when used in combination with other drugs. This dictates the need to improve the drug effect on the ischemic myocardium with due account for the hypoxia-induced metabolic dysfunction of cardiac myocytes. In this regard, the use of trimetazidine at the initial stages of ischemia – at the level of metabolic dysfunction does not allow for the development of delayed complications: contractile disfunction of cardiac myocytes and myocardium in general. A wealth of clinical experience has been gained in the use of trimetazidine to treat stable angina pectoris in elderly patients, left ventricular dysfunction and symptoms of chronic heart failure. Drugs with a patient-friendly dosage regimen have been created to improve treatment compliance in patients with coronary artery disease. One of these drugs is once-daily modified release matrix tablets of myocardial cytoprotector Deprenorm OD, 70 mg. The creation of drugs with a patient-friendly dosage regimen will help boost patient compliance to medication and, as a result, reduce the frequency of angina attacks and improve the quality of life in this category of patients