What is ranolazine?
Ranolazine is an anti-anginal medication. It works by improving blood flow to help the heart work more efficiently.
Ranolazine is used to treat chronic angina (chest pain). Ranolazine is not for use during an acute (emergency) attack of angina.
Ranolazine may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide.
What is the most important information I should know about ranolazine?
You should not take ranolazine if you have cirrhosis of the liver. There are many other drugs that should not be used together with ranolazine. Tell your doctor about all other medicines you use.
Ranolazine is not for use during an acute (emergency) attack of angina. Continue using any other medicines prescribed by your doctor (such as nitroglycerin) to treat acute angina.
Before you take ranolazine, tell your doctor about all of your medical conditions, especially if you have a personal or family history of Long QT syndrome.
Do not crush, chew, or break an extended-release tablet. Swallow it whole. Breaking the pill may cause too much of the drug to be released at one time.
Chronic angina is often treated with a combination of different drugs. To best treat your condition, use all of your medications as directed by your doctor. Do not change your doses or medication schedule without advice from your doctor.
What should I discuss with my health care provider before taking ranolazine?
You should not take ranolazine if you have cirrhosis of the liver.
There are many other drugs that should not be used together with ranolazine, such as dexamethasone (Cortastat, Dexasone, Solurex, DexPak), St. John's wort, barbiturates such as phenobarbital, and certain medicines to treat infections, HIV or AIDS, depression, cancer, seizures, high blood pressure, heart disease, narcolepsy, tuberculosis, or pulmonary arterial hypertension. Before you take ranolazine, tell your doctor about all other medications you are using.
To make sure you can safely take ranolazine, tell your doctor if you have a personal or family history of Long QT syndrome.
FDA pregnancy category C. It is not known whether ranolazine will harm an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant while using this medication.
It is not known whether ranolazine passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby. You should not breast-feed while you are using ranolazine.