Active clinical trials for "Arteriosclerosis"

Palliative care is believed to improve care of patients with life-limiting illnesses. This study evaluated the impact of a multi-center randomized trial of a palliative care team intervention on the quality and cost of care of hospitalized patients. Study subjects were randomized to intervention or usual care. At study end, patients receiving the palliative care intervention reported greater patient satisfaction with their care. Intervention patients also had significantly fewer ICU admissions and lower total costs for care 6 months past their hospitalization. Intervention patients completed more advance directives and had longer hospice stays.

To determine if postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy in women following coronary bypass surgery would reduce the occurrence of graft occlusion and delay the development of graft atherosclerosis.

The objective of this study is to compare reduced-dose prasugrel and standard dose clopidogrel in patients older than 74 years with ACS, including non-ST-elevation (NSTEACS) and ST-elevation (STEMI) patients, undergoing early PCI. The primary endpoint of the trial will be the one-year composite of (all-cause)death, myocardial infarction, stroke and re-hospitalization due to cardiovascular reasons or bleeding.

The overall goal of this study is to use MRI to: Examine the relationship between known risk factors for cardiovascular disease and coronary artery wall thickness; Examine the relationship between coronary artery wall thickness and other markers of subclinical coronary atherosclerosis, such as carotid wall thickness and coronary calcium scores; and, Examine the feasibility of measuring the progression of coronary artery wall thickness over time in a subset of participants.

Coronary angiography via the femoral artery is regarded as a safe procedure, but bleeding complications are often seen. To avoid/reduce bleeding complications digital compression is applied in the area of puncture during approximately 20 minutes and the patient is in the investigators' department observed in bed for 2 hours. The investigators apply pressure over the puncture site using a sand bag in the first hour. The patients are told not to move, to keep their legs and upper arms down and not to lift the head from the pillow in these 2 hours (standard observation). In the present study the patients are randomized between standard observation and an alternative observation, where the patients are allowed to lift their head, arms and legs during the 2 hours, otherwise as standard observation. The study has three aims: To establish the incidence of bleeding complications: Frequency of hematoma (> 5 cm) Frequency of pseudoaneurysms Frequency of bleeding demanding surgery Frequency of bleeding demanding transfusion Establish a model to predict in wich patient to expect a bleeding complication. Assess if the alternative observation is associated with more bleeding complications compared to standard observation.

Treatment for no-option heart patients with coronary artery disease. Procedure includes the injection into the heart of a protein growth factor, administered by the Biological Delivery Systems MyoStar injection and mapping catheters, to stimulate the growth of blood vessels around blocked coronary arteries.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains the leading cause of mortality in the UK with an estimated 80,000 fatalities in 2010. Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is associated with atherosclerotic plaque burden and cardiovascular mortality. Mechanisms underlying isolated CAC have not been as yet been fully explained. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), known to act as regulators of gene expression, have also emerged as powerful biomarkers in the diagnosis and prognosis of cardiovascular disorders and may be used in the detection of CAC. We aim to investigate the potential for a "microRNA-signature" in patients with CAC by performing a prospective, case-controlled study to identify pathways associated with CAC in humans. Previous research has demonstrated an inverse relationship between CAC and bone mineral density (BMD), suggesting that these processes may be linked. In a further substudy we plan to define the relationship between CAC and BMD as well as a number of markers of bone metabolism.

The purpose of the study is to compare the pictures of heart arteries obtained by MSCT scanner to the pictures obtained during heart catheterization. Our specific question is whether the MSCT scanner is accurate enough to replace heart catheterization in some situations for the evaluation of coronary heart disease.

This is a randomized, positive-control, multicenter, multiple-dose, dose-escalation phase II trial

The aim of this study is to evaluate whether use of the echoclip device (an ultrasound transducer positioning device which can stabilize the involved part of the myocardium on the beating heart) facilitates imaging of coronary bypass anastomoses during coronary bypass surgery. A total of 100 low risk patients undergoing elective on-pump coronary bypass surgery will be included in the study in order to evaluate if the surgeons can visualize the coronary anastomoses before closure of the sternum. Ultrasonograpic pictures will be analyzed directly peroperatively and electronically post-operatively in order to evaluate if selected areas of the anastomoses can be visualized. Use of the echoclip devise will be considered a success if at least 80% of the anastomoses can be visualized.