Active clinical trials for "Heart Diseases"

In this prospective study, a newly developed self-expanding nitinol stent is evaluated for the treatment of atherosclerotic lesions in the superficial femoral artery and proximal popliteal artery.

The purpose of this study is to examine the differences in perceived health, psychosocial functioning, behavioral outcomes and quality of life of adults with congenital heart disease who are living in different areas of the world, and how these differences can be understood (e.g., differences in sense of coherence or illness perceptions).

High density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is in the centrum of the process of reverse cholesterol transport from peripheral cells to the liver[10]. HDL-C promotes endothelial generation of nitric oxide (NO) and improves endothelial function and arterial vasoreactivity[11]. In several studies, lower HDL-C level was reported to be associated with increased coronary artery disease (CAD) risk[12-14]. HDL-C also has anti- inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities[15,16]. Concerning anti-inflammatory activity, HDL-C inhibits the activation of monocytes/macrophages and neutrophils[17,18] and inhibits the expression of endothelial adhesion molecules, such as vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and E-selectin[15]. In this study we aimed to investigate the relation of HDL-C level with systemic inflammatory markers in patients with cardiac syndrome X (CSX).

Recent advances in technology have resulted in the development of scanners that can image the heart blood vessels within 10 to 20 minutes but without the need for admission to hospital or insertion of catheters. Further advances in technology allow the visualisation of both the blood vessels and the supply of blood to the heart muscle. Here we propose to assess the latest and most powerful computed tomography scanner and compare it to magnetic resonance and conventional coronary angiography.

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of genetic variation in the oxidative stress response on critical perioperative and short-term outcomes after neonatal heart surgery. The goals will be to determine 1) if the oxidative stress pathway is an important one for therapeutic intervention in neonates with severe congenital heart defects and 2) if variants in the oxidative response pathway can be used to identify patients at increased risk for adverse outcomes.

A growing interest in monitoring cardiac output (CO) non-invasively has emerged, however its determination has been difficult using the standard approaches. The aim of the study is to evaluate the accuracy and precision of pulse contour analysis (PCA) as compared to cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR).

To validate the use of Corus CAD (Age/Sex/Gene Expression score - ASGES) blood assay in subjects who are referred for the work-up of coronary artery disease. The study will evaluate the clinical utility of a gene expression test Corus CAD (Age, Sex, Gene Expression Score - ASGES) in subjects referred for myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) work-up for suspected obstructive atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD). The Corus CAD (ASGES) is a gene expression test that quantify the expression of multiple genes from circulating peripheral blood cells to detect the presence of clinically significant obstructive CAD in patients with chest pain.

The goal of the PROMUS™ Element™ Everolimus-Eluting Coronary Stent System European Post- Approval Surveillance Study is to evaluate real world clinical outcomes data for the PROMUS™ Element™ Coronary Stent System in unselected patients in routine clinical practice.

The aim of this study is to determine if stress first pass imaging in conjunction with a nuclear scan will improve the sensitivity for detecting heart disease. This study will also test the usefulness of a nuclear medicine camera, CDLCAM One Pass Angiography system.

This study is being done to compare the blood flow measurements obtained with the SPECT and PET imaging scans. Measurements such as myocardial blood flow (MBF) and myocardial flow reserve (MFR) are analyzed on PET scans. These measurements give the doctors more precise information in diagnosing heart problems. SPECT scans, with new camera technology and computer software, now have the potential to also give this additional information. The study is investigating how well the blood flow measurements from SPECT compared to PET.