Trimetazidine hydrochloride as a new treatment for patients with peripheral vascular disease--an exploratory trial.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the therapeutic effect of trimetazidine hydrochloride in peripheral vascular disease patients who had Rutherford classification grade 2-3. PATIENTS AND METHODS 72 patients with Rutherford classification grade 2-3 in peripheral vascular were recruited successfully, they were randomly assigned to control group (35 cases) and trimetazidine group (37 cases), patients in control group received conventional treatment and trimetazidine group received conventional treatment plus trimetazidine hydrochloride for 6 months. Their ankle brachial index (ABI), maximum walking distance, pain onset time and the maximum walking time were compared before and after the treatment. RESULTS After 6 months' treatment, the ABI, maximum walking distance, pain onset time and the maximum walking time in two groups were both improved of when compared with before treatment (p < 0.05). The maximum walking distance, pain onset time and the maximum walking time in trimetazidine group were improved better than control (p < 0.05) while no evident improvement in ABI between the 2 groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Conventional therapy plus trimetazidine hydrochloride could significantly improve the clinical symptoms of patients with Rutherford classification Grade 2-3 in peripheral vascular.