A recently approved angina drug may also represent a powerful new treatment for a rare hereditary syndrome that places teens at risk for sudden cardiac death, according to research presented to today at the 57th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) in Chicago.

Chest pain due to a shortage of blood in the heart, known as angina, is a condition that affects millions of Americans. The most recently approved new pharmaceutical approach to treat chronic angina is a novel drug called ranolazine, which was approved in 2006 for use as second line therapy in patients who continue to experience angina despite treatment with another class of anti-anginal medication.