Perhexiline maleate in the treatment of angina pectoris in patients awaiting coronary artery bypass surgery.

Twenty-five patients with angina pectoris due to coronary artery disease who had not responded to other medical therapy and on the waiting list for coronary bypass surgery were treated over a period of 4 weeks with perhexiline maleate (100 mg to 400 mg/day) in addition to their other therapy. There was an 80% reduction in the average number of both anginal attacks and nitroglycerin requirement when the pre-treatment week and the 4th week of perhexiline maleate therapy were compared (p less than 0.0001). Six of the patients had no anginal attacks at all and did not require sublingual nitro glycerin tablets during the 4th week of perhexiline maleate therapy.