Active clinical trials for "Heart Failure"

A prospective, validation study to evaluate the data accuracy of heart sounds recorded by the LifeVest® Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator (WCD). These data will be compared with the heart sounds data recorded by an FDA-cleared device AUDICOR AM device.

Purpose: To compare the hemodynamic effects of dobutamine and milrinone in hospitalized patients who are receiving Beta Blocker Participants: Patients who are admitted to the General Cardiology and Heart Failure Services at the University of North Carolina Hospitals with acute decompensated heart failure, who have maintained steady state concentrations of beta blocker therapy (carvedilol or metoprolol), and who are deemed by the health care team to require pulmonary artery catheter placement and inotropic therapy with dobutamine or milrinone by continuous infusion. Patients that are not currently receiving beta blocker therapy will be enrolled for comparative purposes; however, any patient not at steady state (on or off beta blocker therapy) will not be enrolled. Procedures: After obtaining informed consent, patients will be assigned to the appropriate sub-study group based on beta blocker use (Study A: patients on stable doses of metoprolol and Study B: patients on stable doses of carvedilol). All patients should receive dobutamine followed by milrinone as outlined in the dosing algorithm (see inotrope dosing algorithm attached, as part of the usual standard of practice). Baseline pulmonary artery catheter hemodynamic parameters will be collected prior to administration of inotrope trial of dobutamine followed by milrinone. Hemodynamic parameters will be recorded per the dosing algorithm following initiation and dose titration. Dose titration will be determined by the health care team based upon patient response or lack thereof and tolerability. Changes in hemodynamic parameters in response to dobutamine or milrinone will be compared within study groups. Additionally, data will continue to be collected on patients receiving not beta blocker therapy for comparative purpose.

Heart failure (HF) is the most common cause of hospitalization in older adults. The month after hospital discharge represents a vulnerable period, when patients are at increased risk of death and readmission to hospital. Research has shown that certain discharge-planning services can reduce death and readmissions, but these have not been widely implemented. In this study, we will group evidence-informed discharge-planning services into 'Patient-centered Care Transitions in HF' (PACT-HF), a model of care that will prepare patients for their transition from hospital to home. Through PACT-HF, patients will benefit from a comprehensive assessment of their health care needs, learn to recognize and manage symptoms of HF, and receive the information and follow-up care needed to optimize their health. We will introduce PACT-HF to 10 Ontario hospitals over a number of time periods using a stepped wedge cluster trial design. We will compare the outcomes (hierarchically ordered) of patients in hospitals with PACT-HF to those in hospitals without PACT-HF. We anticipate that patients hospitalized at the sites with PACT-HF will have fewer readmissions, emergency visits, and deaths after discharge; report a better quality of life; and feel more prepared for discharge. We also anticipate that overall, PACT-HF will reduce health system costs.

the gold standard for the diagnostic of acute heart failure is based on clinical, biological (BNP levels) and echocardiographic findings, but still in some cases, the diagnosis is difficult and requires further investigations. BNP dosages and echocardiography are not always available in many medical centers, especially in emergency departements, and are expensive. we investigated the use of alternative methods, such as the systolic time intervals (STI), in the diagnosis of acute heart failure (AHF) in emergency departement patients consulting for dyspnea.

The aim of the study is I. To assess whether an individualized exercise training program is superior as compared to usual care with respect to exercise tolerance, II. to assess whether intervention tools that aim to increase exercise adherence are superior to an individualized exercise training alone with respect to exercise tolerance and long-term effects, and III. to identify biomarkers that that may be implemented into novel intervention tools aiming to increase exercise adherence in patients with chronic heart failure.

The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of palliative care consultation on quality of life and symptom management for patients hospitalized with acute heart failure with a randomized control trial at Abbott Northwestern Hospital.

Difficulty in breathing or increased rate of breathing are common causes of admission to intensive care unit. This may be due to heart failure, or other causes such as infection in the lungs. Treating doctors usually perform Chest X-ray, ECG, and other tests to know if breathlessness is due to heart failure or other cause. Doctors also give medicines to treat heart failure, or other conditions of the lungs based on the symptoms and investigation results. BNP is released by heart which is not functioning well. However BNP levels are also high in case of severe infection.Hence there is equipoise in utility of BNP measurements among critically ill patients, and it is not a current standard of care. The current cost of this test (about 1000 rupees per measurement) is high, and hence its utility needs to be carefully examined before a widespread use. The investigators intend to test the hypothesize that that on-admission BNP measurements, help clinicians identify CHF early, which may modify therapeutic decisions, and improve outcomes. The current study is designed with an objective to determine if on-admission BNP value and availability of its test results to treating physicians will reduce in-hospital, and 30-day mortality and in-hospital morbidity.

Based on the reversal of the adverse cardiovascular parameters during Laproscopic Surgery and its influence on cardiac activity in healthy subjects, the investigators expect to improved cardiac function in patients suffering from congestive heart failure.

Prospective, follow-up registry of heart failure patients with or without sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). To test the hypothesis that treatment of nocturnal central sleep apnea with Cheyne-Stokes respiration by adaptive servoventilation (ASV) improves symptoms, cardiac performance and event-free survival.

The purpose of FACE study is to provide in routine practice complementary long-term data on the mortality and morbidity of Chronic Heart Failure (CHF) patients with Central Sleep Apnea eligible for Adaptative Servo-Ventilation (ASV) treatment (PaceWave, AutoSet CS; ResMed).