Active clinical trials for "Heart Failure"

The investigators prospectively evaluated 89 consecutive outpatients (29 female) with stable congestive heart failure. The presence of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) and Cheyne-Stokes respiration (CSR) while awake were investigated by overnight polysomnography. Males and females were similar in age, body mass index, and LVEF. Prevalence of SDB was higher in males than females. During follow up of 25±10 months, 27% of the population died. Nonsurvivors had lower LVEF (p=0.01), worse NYHA class (p=0.03) a higher proportion of CSR-awake (p<0.001) than survivors.

This will be a cross sectional study comparing patients with HFpEF and age-matched, non-HF controls recruited from the community. This design will allow for determination of biologically relevant differences in baseline ventricular and vascular function, and importantly, differences in the ability to augment ventricular and vascular function dynamically during exercise stress, when symptoms of HF typically are first noted. The endpoint of exercise-reserve function is novel and has been little examined in the existing HFpEF literature.

KoMPiS is a contrast aided cardiac magnetic resonance study of microvascular obstruction and left ventricular remodelling following acute revascularised anterior myocardial infarction. The study will monitor the included patients for 12 months following the acute myocardial infarct and collect data from MR scans and blood samples. The study is designed to demonstrate that obstruction of blood flow in the peripheral (small) vessels of the cardiac muscle is an important factor in the post-MI development of left ventricle dysfunction that occurs in many patients, despite of a successful re-opening of the occluded coronary artery that caused the MI.

Non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIV) refers to the provision of mechanical ventilation without an artificial airway (for example, an endotracheal tube). Over the past decade, evidence from randomized control trials has accumulated to demonstrate effectiveness of the technique in avoiding intubation, reducing complications associated with intubation, shortening ICU and hospital lengths of stay, and reducing mortality rates in selected patients with acute respiratory failure. However, NIV is still underutilized at many medical centers. The purposes of this project will be to acquire information related to NIV use, to identify reasons for underutilization, to implement interventions that encourage more appropriate use of NIV, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions. Reliable information on NIV use as well as analysis of reasons for underutilization will provide insight into ways of enhancing NIV use. We will determine utilization rate, technology used, patient diagnoses, duration of ventilator use and hospital stay, and success rates as recorded on case report forms (CRFs). After completing the survey, we will provide an educational program to randomly selected institutions (one-half of the total) aimed at increasing the knowledge and skill of physicians, nurses, and therapists regarding use and implementation of NIV. Data will be gathered for a second round with the same data-gathering instruments used during

The Dallas Heart Study (DHS-1) is a large, multi-ethnic, population-based epidemiological study designed to identify determinants of atherosclerotic heart disease (ASHD) in a representative United States (US) urban environment. This study completed enrollment in 2003. Our objective is to pinpoint factors contributing to progression: from health to ASHD risk; from ASHD risk to subclinical ASHD; and from subclinical to clinical ASHD. Identification of the critical factors in these transitions will enable targeted implementation of appropriate therapy to interdict before clinical ASHD develops.

The investigators are hoping to identify early heart failure in patients who do not have symptoms as yet and at the same time assess the usefulness of Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in doing this.

The Intermacs registry is a national quality improvement system designed to advance the understanding and application of mechanical circulatory support in order to improve the duration and quality of life in patients with advanced heart failure.

A trial to examine whether a new heart failure blood test can improve the outcome of patients presenting to the Emergency Department with shortness of breath. We hypothesise that a BNP test performed in real-time in patients presenting to the Emergency Department with shortness of breath will help identify additional patients with CHF and consequently to change practice and allow more patients to recieve correct treatment earlier.

To measure associations of established and suspected coronary heart disease risk factors with both atherosclerosis and new coronary heart disease events in representative cohorts from four diverse United States communities. To compare the communities with respect to risk factors, medical care, atherosclerosis, and coronary heart disease incidence. ARIC has two components in each community: study of representative cohorts of adult men and women, and community surveillance of morbidity and mortality.

To conduct a population-based study of the prevalence of asymptomatic ventricular dysfunction.