Active clinical trials for "Atherosclerosis"

Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG)Surgery is commonly used to treat patients with coronary artery disease (atherosclerosis) for the relief of angina (chest pain) and improve heart muscle function. Healthy veins or arteries, referred to as 'conduits' from elsewhere in the patient's body, are grafted (attached) from the aorta to the coronary arteries, bypassing (via new routes) coronary artery narrowings caused by atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and thereby improving the blood supply to the myocardium (heart muscle). Over the years, a range of different veins and arteries from around the body have been used to bypass diseased coronary arteries. Typically, internal thoracic arteries from behind the breastbone and the saphenous veins from the legs are used for bypass. More recently, radial arteries from the forearm have also been used to bypass coronary arteries that are diseased (atherosclerotic). There is strong evidence to indicate that the left internal thoracic artery stays open the longest (i.e. has the highest patency) and achieves the best health outcomes. As a result, most cardiac surgeons use the left internal thoracic artery as their first choice of conduit (vessel used to bypass the blocked artery). However, many patients require multiple grafts and there is little evidence as to which grafts are the best conduits to use. It has been suggested that the radial arteries might function better than saphenous veins as conduits. The Radial Artery Patency and Clinical Outcomes Trial(RAPCO) aims to compare patency of the radial arteries with the right internal thoracic artery and also with the saphenous vein.

Anginal symptoms due to ischaemia with no obstructive coronary arteries (INOCA) is a common clinical problem, however, diagnosis and onward management is heterogeneous, and prognosis is affected. Recent advances in quantifying myocardial blood flow using stress perfusion cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) has potential for accurate detection coronary microvascular dysfunction. The CorCMR diagnostic study involves stress perfusion CMR in patients with suspected INOCA to clarify the prevalence of subgroups of patients with underlying problems, such as microvascular disease or undisclosed obstructive coronary artery disease, that might explain their anginal symptoms. A nested, prospective, randomised, controlled, double-blind trial will determine whether stratified medical therapy guided by the results of the stress perfusion CMR improves symptoms, well-being, cardiovascular risk and health and economic outcomes.

Rotational atherectomy is an established tool to treat blocked arteries in the heart, in which the blockage is due to significant amounts of calcified material. In rotational atherectomy, a rotating instrument is used to break up the calcification before a stent is placed and helps restore blood flow to the heart. However, severely calcified regions are difficult to treat and even after treatment arteries can re-clog and major cardiac events occur. This study will test if rotational artherectomy with the addition of a cutting balloon - a balloon with microsurgical blades on its outer surface which make longitudinal incisions in the calcified area in order to open resistant clogs - will result in increased blood vessel lumen, more optimal stent expansion and decreased cardiac problems compared to current standard treatment.

To assess whether vulnerable coronary plaques have more uptake of 68Ga-Dotatate than non-vulnerable plaques.

CKJX839D12302 is a pivotal Phase III study designed to test the hypothesis that treatment with inclisiran sodium 300 milligram (mg) subcutaneous (s.c.) administered on Day 1, Day 90, and every 6 months thereafter in patients at high cardiovascular (CV) risk without a prior major atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) event will significantly reduce the risk of 4-Point-Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events (4P-MACE) defined as a composite of CV death, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), non-fatal ischemic stroke, and urgent coronary revascularization, compared to placebo.

Early detection of coronary atherosclerotic disease facilitates adequate prevention. The purpose of this study is to compare an assessment of coronary atherosclerotic disease burden by positron emission tomography / computed tomography (NaF-PET/CT) with those of conventional and ultra-high-resolution-CT (UHR-CT) in patients with suspected coronary artery disease. For this purpose, the investigators plan to include 33 patients with symptoms concerning for CAD who have been referred for cardiac CT testing.

Stroke is the second leading cause of death in the Western world and the leading cause of major lifelong disability. About 15% of strokes are secondary to thrombosis or embolization of an unstable atheromatous carotid plaque. In these symptomatic patients, the degree of carotid stenosis is correlated with the risk of early recurrence. Patients with stenosis over 70% are therefore offered an endarterectomy, an operation to remove carotid plaque, to prevent future strokes[1]. In asymptomatic patients, the degree of stenosis is a limited predictor, and better risk stratification is required to assess the degree of plaque vulnerability and stroke risk of the patient. The therapeutic decision towards endarterectomy in addition to drug therapy is debated because of a variable and dependent benefit/risk balance for each patient. A number of imaging parameters have been studied: ulceration, heterogeneity, vascularization of the plaque for example, but their place is not well defined [2]. The usual evaluation of carotid stenosis is by conventional Doppler ultrasound with calculation of the degree of stenosis according to the NASCET criteria. For symptomatic stenoses the intervention is recommended when above 70% and is discussed from 50% to 70% of NASCET stenosis degree. For asymptomatic stenoses, the procedure is discussed when above 60% taking into account the patient's life expectancy, the risk of the surgery and the unstable nature of the plaque [2]. Destabilization of the carotid plaque is partially induced by inflammation associated with neo-vascularization. The detection of these new vessels by conventional contrast ultrasound has already shown a distinction between stable and unstable plaques, by the presence or absence of microbubbles in the plaque. However, this assessment is not very precise and only the most vascularized plaques can be detected. Ultrafast ultrasound Imaging is a new ultrasonic Imaging modality that allows detecting low speed flows, a tiny vascular structure within the vessel wall. RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS Plaques neo-vascularization would be more precisely detected and characterized by ultrafast imaging coupled with microbubble injection than conventional ultrasound imaging. A better assessment of plaque instability could improve the selection of patients for carotid endarterectomy and increase the benefit/risk ratio of this preventive surgery.

The aim of the study is to investigate if lesion preparation with a ScoreFlex balloon compared to a standard non-compliant balloon improve vascular healing and minimize lumen reduction after implantation of a Magmaris bioresorbable scaffold.

Although randomized trials have demonstrated there is no benefit of renal-artery stenting in addition to medical therapy for patients with atherosclerosis renal artery stenosis, many patients indeed gained benefit in daily practices after stenting, such as reduction in blood pressure and recovery in renal functions. One important gap is that there is no universal standard to determine whether to stent in these patients. Fraction Flow Reserve (FFR) has been studied for many year in chronic coronary heart disease and FFR-guided revascularization strategy is known to be better than both angiography-guided revascularization and medication alone. The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether Fraction Flow Reserve (FFR) is appropriate to determine stenting in hypertension patients with atherosclerosis renal artery stenosis. The main questions it aims to answer are: Is it appropriate to use FFR to determine whether or not stenting for hypertension patients with atherosclerosis renal artery stenosis? To provide detailed data supporting design of further trial, such as sample size calculating, cut-off value for FFR in renal artery stenosis, etc. Participants met the inclusive/exclusive criteria will be randomized to stenting or not in the renal artery, then hyperemic FFR induced by dopamine will be measured in all participants. If FFR is ≥0.80, randomization will be applied. If FFR is <0.80, randomization will be ignored, and stenting will be performed as planned. The blood pressure and anti-hypertensive medications will be compared before and 3 months after the procedure based on ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, all participants will be followed up for 1 year.

Data from human autopsy studies have showed that thrombosis of a ruptured plaque with a large necrotic core, inflammatory cells and a thin fibrous cap, the so-called thin cap fibroatheroma (TCFA), represents the main mechanism for acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique that provides high-resolution, cross-sectional images of tissue in situ. The resolution of OCT (10 um) is appropriate for measuring a cap thickness less than65 μm, and even the plaque macrophage density. 68Ga-DOTA-(Tyr3)-octreotate/NaI3-octreotide(68Ga-DOTA-TATE/NOC) Positron Emission Tomography (PET)/Computed Tomography coronary angiography (CTCA), targeting the somatostatin receptor subtype-2 selectively expressed by M1 macrophages may show coronary inflammation. The SHORE protocol aims at evaluating the synergy between OCT and 68Ga-DOTA-TATE/NOC in predicting coronary plaque progression as assessed by CTCA