Active clinical trials for "Heart Failure"

This study aims to establish the degree to which change in the ratio of ECF to TBW measured using the SOZO BIS device correlates with change in end-expiratory end-diastolic PAP measured using the CardioMEMS HF System (St. Jude Medical).

It is an observational study in patients with heart failure investigating the incidence of arrhythmias using a wearable device which can monitor heart rhythm for up to 14 days. In addition to gathering routine clinical information, research assessments include a symptoms questionnaire and a corridor walk test. Patients will be followed for clinical events (interventions for arrhythmias, hospitalisation, death) for 1 year.

There are no investigations so far whether an application of positive pressure during non-invasive ventilation might be a therapeutic option for transudative pleural effusion in patients with heart failure. In view of the pathophysiological process with pleural effusion resulting from an increase in intravascular hydrostatic pressure, non-invasive ventilation might provide an improvement. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether an additional non-invasive ventilation therapy leads to an improved suppression of pleural effusion in heart failure patients.

The study addresses the hypothesis that a gradual build-up in arterial resistance and microvascular endothelial dysfunction due to common comorbidities such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus, on top of age related vascular and cardiac changes (mainly fibrosis and hypertrophy), is responsible for HFpEF. The HFpEF syndrome is commonly seen in elderly subjects (often females) with hypertension and diabetes. The investigators will investigate the vascular function, cardiovascular performance and myocardial fibrosis in different cohorts of subjects to try and prove this hypothesis. There will be 5 groups of subjects, all ≥ 70 years of age, as follows: A) Normal healthy volunteers without major comorbidities including hypertension or diabetes B) Patients with hypertension only (without diabetes mellitus) C) Patients with hypertension AND diabetes mellitus D) Patients with HFpEF. E) A parallel group of patients with Heart Failure with reduced Ejection Fraction (HFrEF) group. Arterial resistance measured by pulse wave velocity will be the primary measure and will be compared between groups A to D. A separate comparison will be made between groups D and E. Other secondary measures will focus on endothelial function (Laser Doppler measurements) and other cardiovascular performance measures (peak VO2 by CPEX, 6-minute walk distance). Bloods samples will be taken for NT-proBNP, high sensitivity Troponin T, Galectin 3 and also stored for testing later for vascular biomarkers.

Evaluation of the risk factors associated with Heart Failure (HF) worsening (measured by hospitalizations and emergency visits because of HF exacerbations) in Spanish patients with Atrial Fibrilation and HF treated with rivaroxaban.

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.

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.

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.

The purpose of this study is evaluation of expression of desmin in cardiomyocytes of patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Analysis of relationship between desmin expression and activities of mitochondrium and expression of ubiquitin.

zWedge is a clinical feasibility IDE study. The objective is to characterize the relationship between intra-thoracic impedance measurements obtained from a CRT-D device and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) measured via a right heart catheterization (RHC) acutely and over time.