Effect of nicorandil combined with trimetazidine on miR-223-3p and NRF2 expression in patients with coronary heart disease.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to explore the effect of nicorandil (NCR) combined with trimetazidine (TMZ) on miR-223-3p and NRF2 expression in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). METHODS This study included 71 CHD patients admitted to our hospital from February 2017 to March 2019, including 33 cases in the control group (CG) treated with NCR and 38 cases in the research group (RG) treated with TMZ combined with NCR. Improvement in clinical efficacy after treatment was observed in the two groups; serum miR-223-3p and NRF2 levels pre- and post-treatment were compared, and the predictive value of the two for curative effect was analyzed. In addition, ST segment depression frequency and total duration, pre- and post-treatment cardiac function levels and blood lipid levels were recorded and compared. RESULTS RG had statistically more markedly effective cases and notably lower serum miR-223-3p and NRF2 expression than CG after treatment. Through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, it was found that the area under curves (AUCs) of miR-223-3p and NRF2 were 0.716 and 0.712 respectively. The post-treatment ST segment depression frequency and duration were lower in RG than in CG (P<0.05). Cardiac function and blood lipid levels were significantly better in RG as compared to those in CG after treatment (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS NCR combined with TMZ is more effective in patients with CHD, and miR-223-3p and NRF2 can be predictors of clinical efficacy.