Novel therapeutic approaches to treating chronic angina in the setting of chronic ischemic heart disease

Antagonist molecules in the treatment of angina

INTRODUCTION

Management of chronic angina has evolved dramatically in the last few decades with several options for pharmacotherapy outlined in various evidence-based guidelines.

AREAS COVERED

There is a growing list of drugs that are currently being investigated for treatment of chronic angina. These also include several herbal medications, which are now being scientifically evaluated as potential alternative or even adjunctive therapy for angina. Gene- and cell-based therapies have opened yet another avenue for management of chronic refractory angina in 'no-option' patients who are not candidates for either percutaneous or surgical revascularization and are on optimal medical therapy. An extensive review of literature using PUBMED, Cochrane database, clinical trial databases of the USA and European Union was done and summarized in this review. This review will attempt to discuss the traditional as well as novel therapeutic agents for angina.

EXPERT OPINION

Several pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapeutic options are now available for treatment and management of chronic refractory angina. Renewed interest in traditional therapies and cell- and gene-based modalities with targeted drug delivery systems will open the doors for personalized therapy for patients with chronic refractory angina.

Stable angina pectoris: antianginal therapies and future directions

Advances in pharmacotherapy for stable angina have produced a wide choice of drugs with various mechanisms of action, potentially enabling individualized, patient-specific treatment strategies to be developed. In this Review, the various treatment options for patients with stable angina are discussed. Data from randomized, clinical trials of established and novel drugs are reviewed, with particular emphasis on the proposed mechanisms of action, benefits of therapy, and adverse-effect profiles. The role of coronary revascularization in conjunction with optimal medical therapy as a treatment strategy is discussed, although drug therapy might reduce the need for prompt revascularization if the procedure is being considered solely for the purpose of alleviating angina. Finally, trials to investigate stimulation of angiogenesis using growth-factor, gene, and cell therapy are used to illustrate the challenges of chemically inducing the growth of adequate, durable blood vessels.

Conventional and novel drug therapeutics to relief myocardial ischemia

Effective management of stable angina usually includes drug therapy. There are several agents that are considered vasculoprotective such as aspirin, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and statins. Conventional anti ischemic therapy includes nitrates, beta-blockers and calcium-channel blockers. In recent years, several other drugs with novel anti ischemic mechanisms have become available including ranolazine, ivabradine, nicorandil and many others. This article reviews drugs that alleviate the symptoms of chronic angina with emphasis on several novel pharmacological agents.