Active clinical trials for "Cardiomyopathies"

The goal of the this observational study is to gather clinically available data on patients presenting with a suspicion for arrhythmia-induced cardiomyopathy (AiCM) at the University Hospital Basel.

Transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis causes debilitating heart failure in older adults. The proposed research will develop a personalized exercise training program to improve functional capacity in patients on optimal treatment for transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis. This is a vital next step to improve functional capacity and quality of life of people suffering from transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis.

This randomized study compares the effects of conventional (right ventricular pacing in patients with LVEF ≥ 40% and cardiac resynchronization therapy in patients with LVEF < 40 %) versus left bundle branch pacing on left ventricular remodelling in patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (< 50 %) that need permanent pacemaker implantation after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

The purpose of this study is to learn about the natural progression of DCM (dilated cardiomyopathy) caused by BAG3 gene mutations. DCM is a condition as the heart muscle is weakened and the heart becomes enlarged. This makes it hard for the heart to pump enough blood for the body. The study is seeking up to about 35 participants who have: BAG3 mutation (change in the gene) that causes or is likely to cause dilated cardiomyopathy NYHA (New York Heart Association) Class I-IV at screening (Stage B-D) Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction less than or equal to 50% (meaning reduced heart function) All participants in this study will receive their usual treatment. The investigators will observe the natural progression of people who have BAG3 DCM. This will help the investigators better understand the disease and aid in future research. Participants will take part in this study for one year. During this time, participants will visit the site at least 4 times (about every 3 months). Participants will undergo study procedures and give information about their health. These procedures will include a physical exam, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, echocardiography, ECG monitoring, activity monitoring, cardiopulmonary exercise testing, and blood tests. Participants will answer questions about health and quality of life. The study team will also call participants about 1 time over the phone.

Comparative effectiveness randomized clinical trial, comparing endocardial radiofrequency ablation alone vs radiofrequency ablation combined with venous ethanol in patients with ischemic ventricular tachycardia -Venous Ethanol for Left Ventricular Ischemic Ventricular Tachycardia -VELVET clinical trial

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy presents like a heart attack and is typically triggered by intense emotional or physical stress. Recovery of this condition varies and many patients continue to suffer from symptoms such as fatigue and breathlessness for a protracted period after their event. The purpose of this study is to establish whether following a structured exercise program or a mental wellbeing program compared to usual care for 12 weeks after an episode of Takotsubo will result in significant improvement in the brain activity, general and mental wellbeing of patients.

The identification of myocardial fibrosis in term of myocardial scar and extracellular matrix remodelling assessed respectively with the technique of Late Gadolinium Enhancement (LGE) and with the quantification of the Extracellular Volume Fraction (ECV) in Cardiac Magnetic Resonance has been demonstrated to be crucial in the diagnosis of different cardiomyopathy and to be prognosticators of major cardiovascular adverse events [1-14]. For these reason CMR represent the gold standard for the non-invasive characterization of myocardial tissue in the clinical practice. However, regardless of its indisputable clinical role, CMR has many limitations: 1) it does not allow to evaluate coronary arteries; 2) it is contraindicated in patients with cardiac devices, and in case of conditional device they may also significantly impair LGE assessability due to artefacts [19]); 2) has limited availability and it is time consuming, therefore it is difficult to perform in the acute setting also because of poor patient compliance; 3) it is not feasible in patients suffering from claustrophobia. Cardiac Computed Tomography (cCT) is the image of choice to non-invasively study coronary arteries, not assessable with CMR. Moreover the recent technological advancement has continuously increased the clinical indication to the evaluation of cardiac valve and fibrosis, with reduced acquisition time respect to CMR (few minutes vs 1 hour), radiation exposure and costs. cCT has emerging as a possible alternative to CMR in the characterization of myocardial scar and extracellular volume fraction, with the advantage of a single shot evaluation of coronary arteries and myocardial tissue remodelling (scar, diffuse fibrosis, contractility..).In particular, several studies including some from our group, have demonstrated the clinical utility of myocardial tissue characterization with cCT in different clinical settings, such as myocardial infarction [20, 21], myocarditis [22], hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) [23], heart failure [24], ventricular tachycardia [25], and sarcoidosis [26]. Despite the interesting results, all these previous studies are limited on highly selected and small sample size. Moreover, any large study with long term follow-up is available in the setting of tissue characterization (myocardial scar and ECV) in cCT also as well as combined with a multiparametric approach (cardiac chamber morphofuntionality,contractility-strain, valve calcification, geometry, coronary atherosclerosis, myocardial perfusion, myocardial strain and texture) and no data are available about its prognostic impact. Aim of the study is to evaluate the potential of cCT in tissue characterization (myocardial scar and ECV) alone and associate to other CT imaging biomarker on a large population of patient clinically candidate to cardiac CT.

AUGMENT-HF II is a study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the Algisyl device. The purpose of this study is to investigate Algisyl employed as a method of left ventricular augmentation and restoration in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. Algisyl will be injected into the myocardium under direct visualization during the surgical procedure. Structural abnormalities in the heart are known to play a central role in HF, and clinical evidence supports a strong causal relationship between cardiac chamber dilation and heart failure. Because dilation, and not contractile dysfunction, appears to be responsible for the severity of the disease, the mitigation or prevention of the deleterious structural abnormalities of the left ventricle appears to be an important therapeutic target for patients with this life threatening illness. Hence, a therapy that specifically reduces LV wall stress, targets LV dilatation and LV remodeling may offer an important new alternative in the treatment of heart failure. Algisyl is being investigated based on evidence that suggests an ability of the implants to reduce wall stress, reshape the LV chamber and reduce the LV chamber size as well as prevent the progressive ventricular dilation and remodeling associated with HF. The physiologic response to progressive exercise using direct measures of ventilation and gas exchange via the cardiopulmonary exercise test is an important diagnostic tool in the management of the patient with HF, quantifying responses to therapy, and as a reliable prognostic utility for predicting outcomes in patients with HF. Numerous studies have established the strong association of peak VO2 with mortality and morbidity risk in HF. Peak VO2 conceptually is considered an overall global marker of cardiopulmonary health and is a reflection of the degree of impairment in ventricular function ( the heart's pumping capacity), oxygen delivery and oxygen utilization. Hence, employing the change in peak VO2 as a primary endpoint in this clinical study provides a strong objective measure that can be interpreted in independent blinded fashion, to evaluate the result of the therapeutic intervention and provide an equally strong assessment of the prognostic implications for patients in the study. This clinical evaluation is intended to provide confirmatory evidence of the effectiveness and safety of the device Algisyl in patients with advanced heart failure.

IntelliStent is intended to achieve reduction of pulmonary hypertension, improvements in symptoms and quality of life in adolescent and adult patients with congenital heart disease and dilated cardiomyopathy.

Radiofrequency ablation of ventricular tachycardias (VTs) is the gold standard treatment of refractory VTs in patients with ischaemic heart disease. In this setting, ablation is usually performed endocardially. However, even after a procedural success there is a high risk of recurrence, particularly due to the inability to create transmural lesions. Indeed, only the endocardium of the LV has been ablated, while a significant part of the arrhythmia substrate may be located on the other side of the myocardial thickness, on the epicardial side of the LV. First described in 1996, epicardial ablation, performed via a percutaneous subxyphoid approach, has since undergone considerable development. Electrophysiologists often use a double endo- and epicardial approach as first line therapy for the ablation of VTs complicating myocarditis or arrhythmogenic dysplasia of the right ventricle, where the substrate is most often epicardial. For VT in ischaemic heart disease, electrophysiologists perform endocardial ablation, and often perform epicardial ablation only after several endocardial failures. Several observational studies suggest that a combined endo- and epicardial approach as first line therapy is associated with a reduced risk of VT recurrence. Since recurrent VT in patients with ischaemic heart disease as a prognostic impact in terms of morbidity and mortality, it appears essential to optimise rhythm management by ablation, by offering a combined approach from the as first approach to reduce the risk of recurrences. The aim of our prospective, multicentre, controlled, randomized study is therefore to compare the rate of VT recurrence after ablation performed as first line therapy either by endocardial approach alone or by combined endo-epicardial approach.