Active clinical trials for "Aortic Valve Stenosis"

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a treatment alternative among high-risk elderly with aortic stenosis, however, mortality remains high. Fifty percent of patients undergoing TAVR exhibit frailty, a syndrome associated with poor survival. It is unknown whether interventions to improve frailty before TAVR (prehabilitation) will improve outcomes after TAVR. This study plans to evaluate whether simple cardiac exercise interventions to improve physical performance before TAVR improves outcomes after TAVR.

To investigate whether the collagen-based MANTA vascular closure device (VCD) is superior to suture-based VCDs in preventing vascular access site complications in patients undergoing transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Degenerative aortic valve stenosis (AS) is the most common valve heart disease in the developed Western countries. The hemodynamic progression of AS occurs over time and leads to LV hypertrophy (LVH) as a compensation mechanism of the heart. Morphological changes such as increasing muscle fibre thickness, collagen volume, and interstitial fibrosis occur in AS patients. These changes result in left ventricular (LV) diastolic and systolic dysfunction and, consequently, to with AS related symptoms. When symptoms associated with AS appear, patients' prognosis is poor if surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) or a trans-catheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is not performed. Primary hypothesis of the research: fibrotic changes in the myocardium are related to immediate (in hospital) or long-term complications (MACE and all-cause mortality) in patients with severe AS. The goal of the study is to determine the prognostic implications of focal as well as diffuse myocardial fibrosis in patients with severe aortic valve stenosis.

This proposal puts forward a research plan to initiate a genetic databank, henceforth referred to as The Genebank at Scripps Clinic Registry. This database will usher in genomic research at Scripps as we strive to stay at the forefront of cardiovascular research in the new century. Human subject donation allows for the creation of the proposed genebank.

Pulmonary hypertension is common in patients with aortic stenosis and is associated with worse operative and long-term outcomes. Sildenafil has been shown to reduce pulmonary artery pressure and improve exercise performance in patients with left-sided heart failure, but this has not been tested in patients with aortic stenosis. We hypothesize that Sildenafil will produce a clinically significant decrease in pulmonary artery pressure in patients with severe aortic stenosis. The dose of Sildenafil that produces a significant decrease in pulmonary artery pressure will be safe and well tolerated in patients with and without a depressed ejection fraction.

Severe aortic stenosis is defined with a mean transvalvular pressure gradient (MTPG) > 40mmHg and a calculated aortic valve area of < 1cm2. However, a considerable proportion of patients do have a MTPG < 40mmHg due to a reduced stroke volume (stroke volume indexed to body surface area ≤ 35ml/m2) despite a normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF > 50%). This entity is termed paradoxical low flow low gradient aortic stenosis (PLFLG AS) and is associated with a worse prognosis. ATTR amyloidosis is a disease of the elderly and might coexist in patients with severe aortic stenosis. Case reports and small observational studies suggest that senile ATTR amyloidosis could be frequent but underdiagnosed in patients with aortic stenosis. There is significant overlap between PLFLG AS and cardiac amyloidosis with regard to symptoms, increasing prevalence with age, concentric hypertrophy, impaired diastolic filling of the left ventricle (LV), as well as longitudinal LV dysfunction despite preserved ejection fraction - all features, which lead to a reduction in stroke volume, the underlying mechanism of the low flow condition as observed in PLFLG AS patients.

RIP-VALVE is a randomized, single blinded study that will test the hypothesis that remote ischemic preconditioning initiated before surgery reduces post-operative myocardial damage in aortic valve surgery. Infarct size will be determined by 72 hours area under curve of troponin-I.

The optimal timing of surgical intervention remains controversial in asymptomatic patients with very severe aortic stenosis. The investigators therefore try to compare long-term clinical outcomes of early surgery with those of conventional treatment strategy in a prospective randomized trial.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is an alternative for patients, that are considered to be too sick for conventional aortic valve replacement. There is no conclusive opinion about the best anesthesiologic management of these patients. Sedation and general anaesthesia are both adequate and the current literature shows no benefit towards one of these methods. This study wants to investigate the influence of these two anesthesiologic managements on the cerebral oxygen saturation during the "rapid pacing"-period during valvuloplasty. The patients are randomised allocated to one of these two anaesthesiological managements. The investigators use the Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) to measure the cerebral oxygen saturation. Parallel there will be a measurement of cerebral biomarkers to monitor cerebral hypoxia.

This is a randomized trial that will evaluate the role of balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) on the outcome of patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedure. Patients will undergo a physical exam, coronary angiography and computed tomography angiography before TAVI. The randomization for direct or non-direct TAVI ( with BAV or without BAV) will take place 24 hours prior to the procedure by the core lab at Hippokration Hospital in Athens. The same lab will analyze in blind fashion the results of all the imaging modalities for each patient. The patients will be followed during the hospital stay and at 30 days and 1 year thereafter by echocardiography. The procedure of predilatation will be at the operator's discretion.