Active clinical trials for "Heart Failure"

Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) is a disease that is characterized by vasoconstriction of small vessels of the lung. Many cases do have proliferation of endothelial cells within these vessels. A possible influence of polymorphisms of genes relevant for inflammatory and endothelial processes is suspected. Especially patients with chronic heart failure can develope PH. The reasons therefore are lacking. The researchers investigate different polymorphism and the influence of these on pulmonary artery pressure (measured invasively) in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) and patients with primary pulmonary hypertension.

The purpose of this study is to create a classification system for the heterogenous disorder of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the production of MMP in failing hearts.

T-wave alternans is a test that is currently being used to risk stratify patients with structural heart disease for sudden cardiac death. The mechanism of T-wave alternans is unclear, but may share a common abnormality with conditions of cardiac fluid overload such as heart failure, which is altered intracellular calcium handling. Current Medtronic implantable defibrillators have the capability of monitoring cardiac fluid status via transthoracic impedance measurements. The purpose of this study is to determine if a correlation exists between T-wave alternans status and cardiac volume status, as determined by transthoracic impedance measurements. Secondarily, the study seeks to examine the relationship between arrhythmia frequency and T-wave alternans or cardiac volume status.

Over the past few years, there has been a growing appreciation that a large number of patients with heart failure have a relatively normal (or preserved) ejection fraction (NFNEF). Epidemiologically, HFNEF is most prevalent among elderly women, most of whom have hypertension, diabetes, or both and often coronary artery disease (CAD). Increased arterial stiffness and/or wave reflections have been described in the same patient groups. Therefore, the investigators speculate that pulsatile hemodynamics, representing arterial stiffness and/or arterial wave reflections, 1) may be altered in HFNEF patients, 2) this may contribute to pathophysiology of HFNEF, and 3) this may be used for the diagnosis of the syndrome.

Background: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF) is common but not well understood. Electrical dyssynchrony in systolic heart failure is harmful. Little is known about the prevalence and the prognostic impact of dyssynchrony in HFPEF. Methods: We have designed a prospective, multicentre, international, observational study to characterize HFPEF and to determine whether electrical or mechanical dyssynchrony affects prognosis. Patients presenting with acute heart failure will be screened. Inclusion criteria will be: acute presentation with Framingham criteria for heart failure, left ventricular EF ≥45%, BNP >100 ng/L or NT-proBNP >300 ng/L. Patients will return in stable condition 4-8 weeks after the index presentation and undergo questionnaires, serology, ECG and Dopplerechocardiography. Thereafter, patients will be followed for mortality and heart failure hospitalization every 6 months for at least 18 months. Sub-studies will focus on echocardiographic changes from the acute presentation to the stable condition and on exercise echocardiography. Conclusion: KaRen aims to characterize electrical and mechanical dyssynchrony and to assess its prognostic impact in the HFPEF. The ancillary study of the exercise stress echocardiography sought to improve our understanding of HFPEF and generate answers to the question whether dyssynchrony could be a target for therapy in HFPEF.

Anemia is frequent in patients with heart failure. Few studies have clearly addressed the causes of anemia in patients with HF. The purpose of this study is to evaluate differences in blood concentrations of various substances related to inflammation, oxidative stress, renal function and other processes between individuals with 1) heart failure and anemia, 2) heart failure without anemia and 3) patients with kidney disease without systolic heart failure. This study will help to better understand the reasons why some people with heart failure have anemia.

The purpose of this study is to collect surface electrograms from standard and several non-standard configurations in patients with long QT syndrome, heart failure, cardiac resynchronization therapy or wide QRS during a routine outpatient assessment. The ECGs collected will be used as test signals by the sponsor for the development of a subcutaneous implantable defibrillator

Heart failure is a very common cause of hospital admission and there are half a million new cases diagnosed each year in the United States. While some important progress has been made over the last two decades for the treatment of heart failure, there still remains a critical need for further advances in our understanding of this disease in order to significantly improve patient outcomes. Large numbers of heart failure patients need to be studied over time to allow scientists to investigate those factors that influence the responses to therapy.

To use continuous measurement of NT Pro BNP level as guide in therapy patients with CHF.