Active clinical trials for "Heart Failure"

Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) is a noninvasive circulatory assist device that has been as a treatment option for refractory angina in left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. Recently, its potential role in heart failure management has been shown. However, although the concept of EECP was introduced almost four decades ago, and despite growing evidence supporting the clinical benefit and safety of this therapeutic modality, little is firmly established regarding the mechanisms responsible for the benefit of EECP include improvement in endothelial function, promotion of coronary collateralization, enhancement of ventricular function, and peripheral effects. Therefore, the major aim of this study is to provide an alternative treatment, EECP, for those unsuitable for standard procedures, especially for patients whose heart failure was caused by repeated myocardial infarction, called ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICMP), and to evaluate the clinical outcome and the endothelial function before and after 35 hours of EECP treatment.

This is planned as a feasibility study. The objective is to evaluate a specially designed patient adherence and monitoring software on standard mobile devices in remote monitoring of heart failure patients.

Understudied drugs will be administered to children per standard of care as prescribed by their treating caregiver and only biological sample collection during the time of drug administration will be involved. A total of approximately 7000 children aged <21 years who are receiving these drugs for standard of care will be enrolled and will be followed for up a maximum of 90 days. The goal of this study is to characterize the pharmacokinetics of understudied drugs for which specific dosing recommendations and safety data are lacking. The prescribing of drugs to children will not be part of this protocol. Taking advantage of procedures done as part of routine medical care (i.e. blood draws) this study will serve as a tool to better understand drug exposure in children receiving these drugs per standard of care. The data collected through this initiative will also provide valuable pharmacokinetic and dosing information of drugs in different pediatric age groups as well as special pediatric populations (i.e. obese).

The purpose of the study is to collect some parameters (clinical, electrical, radiographic, echocardiographic and ECG) able to predict response to cardiac resynchronization therapy.

HIV-infection is associated not only with a reduced function of the immune system, but also linked with diseases of other organ systems, in particular with the heart. Heart conditions that have been described with HIV include Pericarditis, Pleural effusion Pulmonary hypertension (Venedic classification typ II) Dilated cardiomyopathy Heart failure Myocarditis Bacterial endocarditis Heart valve disorders In addition to previously stated disorders of the heart, the premature atherosclerosis of coronary arteries, a further even more important disease of the heart in this patient population, went into the focus of most HIV-researchers and physicians. Premature atherosclerosis of coronary arteries results in coronary calcification, angina pectoris, myocardial infarction and sudden death. HIV-positive patients are at greater risk for a variety of heart-related conditions, including coronary artery disease. It is assumed, that HIV infection doubles the risk of a heart attack, according to recent research. The reason for this link between HIV and heart-related conditions is unknown, but secondary infections that affect the heart muscle and coronary arteries have a greater chance of occurring in people with compromised immune systems. In addition, the HI-virus itself had been detected in the myocardium and might have an impact on the premature of cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, some of the medications used to treat HIV patients (antiretroviral therapy, ART) are assumed to have heart-related side effects. Therefore, current treatment regimens for HIV infection have to be balanced against the marked benefits of antiretroviral treatment. Nevertheless, prevention of coronary heart disease should be integrated into current treatment procedures of HIV-infected patients. The link between the heart and HIV is well established but not well understood. Therefore, further results are needed for efficient guidelines for the prevention, diagnostic and therapy of HIV-associated cardiovascular diseases.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether discussions of life story, forgiveness, and future goals improve quality of life for patients with serious illness.

The aim of this study is to identify patients with problem list gaps and intervene to correct these gaps by creating clinical decision support interventions that alert providers to likely problem list gaps and offer clinicians the opportunity to correct them. The investigators will randomize the clinics that will receive the intervention and formally evaluate the study after a period of 6 months for improved problem list completeness to determine the effectiveness of our intervention.

Patients with heart failure are at an increased risk for thiamin deficiency (TD), for many reasons such as malnutrition and the use of diuretic drugs. Thiamin is a B vitamin that plays an important role in the production of energy in body. Therefore, low levels of thiamin may limit the amount of energy available for the heart to pump blood. Recent thiamin supplementation trials have demonstrated significant improvements in heart function. However, while clinically important, the results of these studies are limited by their small sample sizes, indirect measurement of thiamin status and reliance on hospitalized patients. Therefore, the investigators' goal is to determine the prevalence of thiamin deficiency in ambulatory patients with heart failure by direct measurement of thiamin in red blood cells.

The purpose of the Extension Phase of the COMPASS-HF study is to continue to observe the safety of the Chronicle® Implantable Hemodynamic Monitor (IHM) system and Chronicle ICD system and provide study doctors continued access to the heart pressure information recorded by the Chronicle devices which may be used to help manage heart failure. The Extension Phase of the COMPASS-HF study is limited to people who have already received the investigational system and are currently enrolled in a Chronicle IHM or ICD study.

While trastuzumab has been shown to prevent recurrences of breast cancer, some women may also experience damage to their heart muscle (including heart failure) as a result of their treatment. The investigators hope to learn if standard medications used in heart failure can prevent heart damage caused by trastuzumab in women with breast cancer. The investigators would also like to know if there are any ways to detect this damage earlier using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and blood tests.