Trimetazidine to reverse ischemia in patients with class I or II angina: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled dobutamine–atropine stress echocardiography study / Trimetazidine to reverse ischemia in patients with class I or II angina: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled dobutamine–atropine stress echocardiography study

Aims We sought to evaluate the effects of trimetazidine on ischemia induced by dobutamine–atropine stress echocardiography in patients with class I or class II angina. Methods In a randomized, double-blind, placebocontrolled study, 66 patients with proved coronary disease were subjected to dobutamine–atropine stress echocardiography. Ischemia was proved in 56 patients who were included in the study and who had been on standard maintenance medications (propranolol, aspirin and statin). They were randomized to placebo or trimetazidine, 20mg three times daily for a 12-week period, when dobutamine–atropine stress echocardiography was repeated. Results Fifty-two patients (56.53 ±8.9 years old) completed the study. No differences were seen between groups at entry. Thirty patients had class I and 26 class II angina. At the end of the study, 42 had class I and 14 class II angina (P =0.01), owing to patients being in the trimetazidine arm. We did not observe any differences between groups either for onset time of ventricular ischemic dysfunction, or for wall-motion score index.