Electrocardiological effects of ranolazine and lidocaine on normal and diabetic rat atrium.

PURPOSE: Cellular changes occurring in diabetic cardiomyopathy include disturbances of calcium and sodium homeostasis. Voltage-gated sodium channels are responsible for the initiation of cardiac action potentials, and the excitability would create relevance. The effect of ranolazine as a sodium channel blocker on atrium electromechanical parameters is investigated and compared with lidocaine in streptozocin-treated diabetic rats. METHODS: After an 8-week induction of diabetes type I, the effect of cumulative concentrations of ranolazine and lidocaine on the electrophysiology of isolated atrium was studied. Ranolazine's effects were evaluated on cardiac sodium current in normal- and high-glucose medium, with whole-cell patch-clamp technique. RESULTS: Ranolazine at therapeutic concentrations had no significant statistical effect on refractory period in normal and diabetic isolated heart. Ranolazine (10 µM) caused a hyperpolarizing shift of V1/2 for steady-state inactivation in normal media, while it significantly elicited a depolarizing shift in high-glucose media (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: It is concluded that in the isolated rat atrium preparation, ranolazine and lidocaine have no beneficial on diabetic cardiomyopathy. Although refractoriness and contractility were not much different in normal and diabetic atria, there was a definite effect of ranolazine and lidocaine on sodium current in varying concentrations. This may have significance in future therapeutics.