MRI Evaluation of Chest Pain
Chest PainCoronary Disease1 moreThis study will assess the value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in detecting heart attack and heart attack risk in patients who come to the hospital emergency room because of chest pain. It will also investigate whether MRI can help predict the coronary status of patients 4 to 6 weeks and 1 year after emergency room admission. Patients who come to the emergency room of Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, MD, because of chest pain may be asked to enroll in this study if they have not been diagnosed as having a heart attack. Participating patients will undergo a MRI scan as soon as emergency room doctors determine they are in stable condition. For this procedure, the patient lies on a table that slides into the MRI scanner-a large tubular machine with a magnetic field. During the scan, a contrast material is injected into the vein. This material brightens the image of the heart so that the blood flow can be seen. The scan will show if there are areas of heart muscle that received insufficient blood flow. A second scan will be done within 72 hours to look for coronary artery blockage that may require treatment. Patients will be followed by telephone 4 to 8 weeks after the scans and again 1 year after the scans to ask about any significant medical problems that may have occurred during those time periods. This study will provide information that may improve emergency treatment of patients with acute chest pain by clarifying which patients require immediate medical treatment, which should be admitted to the hospital for further evaluation, and which may safely be discharged from the hospital.
Transversus Thoracis Muscle Plane Block for Postoperative Pain in Adult Cardiac Surgery
Postoperative PainChest Pain2 moreInadequate pain control after coronary artery bypass graft surgery increases mortality and results in a higher incidence of persistent poststernotomy pain syndrome. Our aim is to assess whether ultrasound-guided parasternal intercostal block (PSIB) or surgeon implied transversus thoracic muscle plane block (TTMPB) would improve the postoperative pain scores and decrease tramadol consumption better after coronary artery bypass graft surgery
Prognostic Value of Cardiovascular Risk of sST2 and Troponin I-hs in Patients With Acute Chest Pain...
Acute Chest PainAcute Coronary SyndromeThe role of the sST2 biomarker has been widely explored in heart failure, so much so that it was included in the AHA guidelines in 2013 and 2017. Recently, several studies are proposing a role of sST2 in the prognostic stratification of patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome and ischemic heart disease, in association with other biomarkers even proposing a possible therapeutic differentiation. The combined use of sST2 with high-sensitivity troponins could be a promising strategy to identify those patients who, despite having early rule-out after evaluation at the Emergency Department, have a higher risk of onset of cardiovascular events in the medium-long term.
Use of Visual Decision Aid for Shared Decision Making in Chest Pain
Acute Coronary SyndromeChest Pain2 moreThis study aims to evaluate the use of the chest pain choice (CPC) decision aid as a tool to facilitate discussion between the patient and his/her attending physician with regard to subsequent management plans. Patients aged 21 years and above with low-risk chest pain, as determined by the HEART score (HEART score 0-3), will be included. The investigator's hypothesis is that incorporating the Chest Pain Choice visual aid in shared decision making can help to reduce unnecessary admissions for low risk chest pain to the observation ward, as well as increase patient knowledge with regards to their own condition.
The Effects of Point-of-care Ultrasonography
Chest PainBackground: When used with standard diagnostic testing, point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) might improve the proportion of patients admitted with chest pain (CP) who are correctly diagnosed, decrease length of stay (LOS) in emergency department (ED) and costs. We therefore assessed POCUS for the heart, lungs, aortic, hepatobiliary and deep vein in addition to the usual initial diagnostic testing in this patient population. Methods: In a prospective, randomised-controlled, parallel-group trial in the ED at Sakarya University Training and Research Hospital, Turkey, patients (≥18 years) with CP were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to a standard diagnostic strategy (control group) or to standard diagnostic strategy supplemented with POCUS (POCUS group).
Accuracy of Ultra-Low-Dose-CT of the Chest Compared to Plain Film in an Unfiltered Emergency Department...
Chest PainCough2 moreThis trial compares the accuracy provided by plain film as well as ultra-low-dose-computed-tomography (ULDCT) of the chest. It also aims to analyze differences in diagnostic confidence and therapeutic consequence offered by these two imaging modalities.
CArdiac cT in the Treatment of Acute CHest Pain 2 - Myocardial CT Perfusion
Coronary Artery DiseaseThe aim of this study is to assess whether the clinical management of patients with recent acute-onset chest pain without acute coronary syndrome may be optimized by a combined coronary CT angiography (CTA) + CT myocardial perfusion (CTP) guided, rapid diagnostic strategy as compared to CTA alone. CT diagnostic evaluation and potential referral for invasive testing will be performed within 2 weeks after hospital discharge. The following main hypothesis will be tested: - Combined assessment of coronary anatomy and myocardial perfusion using 320 MDCT results in a safe and optimized, cost-effective invasive treatment strategy
Stress CT Perfusion in Patients With Chest Pain
Coronary Artery DiseaseOur hypothesis is that quantitative 3D analysis of cardiac CT images obtained during vasodilator stress can accurately identify patients presenting at the emergency department with acute chest pain due to underlying hemodynamically significant coronary stenosis, aid in the identification of individuals most likely to benefit from revascularization, and thus improve the ability to predict patient outcomes. Our goals are: to test the above hypothesis by comparing stress MDCT perfusion data with invasive fractional flow reserve (FFR) data in patients with significant stenosis who undergo ICA; to determine the added value of MDCT perfusion as an adjunct to CTCA for predicting patient outcomes.
Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging Strategy for the Management of Patients With Acute Chest Pain...
Acute Coronary SyndromeChest PainThe broad, long-term objective is to improve outcomes by optimizing healthcare delivery processes for patients with detectable to elevated serum troponin. This clinical trial involving emergency department (ED) patients with intermediate to high-risk chest pain and detectable to minimally elevated serum troponin within 6 hours of evaluation.
Hypnotherapy in Patients With Chest Pain & Unobstructed Coronaries
Chest PainUnobstructed Coronary ArteriesThis study will investigate whether clinical hypnotherapy can effectively treat chest pain symptoms, improve emotional wellbeing and quality of life in postmenopausal women with chest pain and coronary arteries without any narrowings. The diagnosis of chest pain with 'normal' coronary arteries is found in 25% of patients undergoing investigation of chest pain using coronary angiography (when dye is injected into the coronary arteries whilst xray pictures are taken), and the majority of these patients are postmenopausal women. Often there is no obvious physical cause. Despite symptoms being treated using conventional drugs, and life expectancy is not affected, many patients continue to suffer from debilitating chest pain symptoms, frequently resulting in visits to hospital, increased psychological illness and poor quality of life. The investigators are interested in finding ways of improving not only chest pain symptoms but also psychological wellbeing and quality of life in these patients. Previous studies of ours have found improvement in these patients after taking part in a support group, and using a relaxation technique called Autogenic training. Recently the investigators conducted a pilot study which showed a favourable effect of hypnotherapy on physical ability, well-being and quality of life. The investigators would now like to extend this study, performing a larger randomised, controlled trial. The investigators hypothesise that hypnotherapy will beneficially affect symptoms and quality of life in patients with cardiac Syndrome X.