Ranexa Information - Drugs and Treatments

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 may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.

What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before taking ranolazine?

You should not take ranolazine if you have liver disease. Ranolazine should not be taken together with certain medicines to treat heart rhythm disorders, infections, HIV or AIDS, seizures, mental illness, pain, cancer, or stomach disorders.

Before you take ranolazine, tell your doctor about all other medications you are using.

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.

If you have certain conditions or take certain medications, you may need a dose adjustment or special tests to safely use this medication. 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." Also tell your doctor about all other medications you use regularly.

FDA pregnancy category C. It is not known whether ranolazine is harmful to an unborn baby. Before taking this medication, tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment.

It is not known if ranolazine passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby. Do not use this medication without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.

How should I take ranolazine?

Take ranolazine exactly as it was prescribed for you. Do not take it in larger doses or for longer than recommended by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label.

Ranolazine may be taken with or without food.

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.

Do not crush, chew, or break an extended-release tablet. Swallow the pill whole. It is specially made to release medicine slowly in the body. Breaking the pill would cause too much of the drug to be released at one time.

Do not take more than 1000 milligrams of ranolazine two times per day.

Store ranolazine at room temperature away from moisture and heat.

What happens if I miss a dose of ranolazine?

If you miss a dose or forget to take your medicine, skip the missed dose and take the medicine at the next regularly scheduled time.

Do not

take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.

Where can I get more information about ranolazine?

Your pharmacist has information about ranolazine written for health professionals that you may read.

What should I avoid while taking ranolazine?

Ranolazine can cause side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert.

Grapefruit and grapefruit juice may interact with ranolazine and lead to potentially dangerous effects. Discuss the use of grapefruit products with your doctor. Do not increase or decrease the amount of grapefruit products in your diet without first talking to your doctor.

What other drugs will affect ranolazine?

Many drugs can interact with ranolazine. Below is just a partial list. Tell your doctor if you are using:

aprepitant (Emend);
cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune, Gengraf);
digoxin (Lanoxin);
diltiazem (Cardizem, Tiazac);
seizure medicine such as carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Tegretol), phenytoin (Dilantin);
simvastatin (Zocor);
St. John's wort;
verapamil (Verelan, Calan, Isoptin, Covera);
an antibiotic such as azithromycin (Zithromax), clarithromycin (Biaxin), erythromycin (E-Mycin, E.E.S., Ery-Tab), rifabutin (Mycobutin), rifampin (Rifadin, Rifamate), rifapentin (Priftin), or troleandomycin (Tao);
an antifungal medication such as fluconazole (Diflucan); itraconazole (Sporanox), or ketoconazole (Nizoral);
an antidepressant such as amitriptyline (Elavil), doxepin (Adapin, Sinequan), nortriptyline (Aventyl, Pamelor), imipramine (Tofranil), or paroxetine (Paxil);
a barbiturate such as amobarbital (Amytal), butabarbital (Butisol), mephobarbital (Mebaral), secobarbital (Seconal), or phenobarbital (Solfoton);
medicine to treat a mental illness, such as thioridazine (Mellaril), ziprasidone (Geodon);
heart rhythm medicine such as amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone), quinidine (Cardioquin, Quinidex, Quinaglute), dofetilide (Tikosyn), sotalol (Betapace, Sorine); or
HIV medicines such as amprenavir (Agenerase), tipranavir (Aptivus), indinavir (Crixivan), saquinavir (Invirase, Fortovase), lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra), fosamprenavir (Lexiva), ritonavir (Norvir), atazanavir (Reyataz), or nelfinavir (Viracept).

This list is not complete and

there may be other drugs that can interact with ranolazine

. Tell your doctor about all the prescription and over-the-counter medications you use. This includes vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors. Do not start using a new medication without telling your doctor.



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Ranexa

Information, Symptoms, Treatments and Resources

What is ranolazine?