Active clinical trials for "Heart Failure"

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.

The overall objective of the DISCERN study is to develop and validate a genomic diagnostic assay to identify patients at increased risk for lethal ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death (SCD).

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

This study will explore which characteristics of patients with heart failure will likely predict improvement after cardiac resynchronization (CRT), implantation of a pacemaker to improve heart function. In spite of major medical advances, about 30% to 40% of patients with heart failure do not respond to CRT, and the reasons are not well understood. This study will involve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), electrocardiogram (ECG), and echocardiography techniques to let researchers examine what may influence response to CRT. Patients ages 18 and older with a left ventricular disorder and who are not pregnant or breastfeeding may be eligible for this study. Initial evaluation will take 5 to 6 hours. A blood sample of about 2 tablespoons will be collected, and several procedures will be performed. MRI uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to obtain images of body organs and tissues. For that procedure, patients will lie on a table that slides into the enclosed tunnel of the scanner and be asked to lie still. They will be in the scanner for 30 to 90 minutes. As the scanner takes pictures, patients will hear knocking sounds, and they may be asked to hold their breath intermittently for 5 to 20 seconds. During part of the scan, a drug called gadolinium will be given intravenously (IV), to make the heart easier to see. Patients will be able to communicate with the MRI staff at all times during the scan. At any time, patients may ask to be moved out of the machine. Patients having metal in their body that interferes with the MRI scanner should not have this test. During the procedure, an ECG machine will monitor the heart, through wires connected to pads on the skin. Patients will have an echocardiogram, in which sound waves look at the heart. A small handheld probe will touch the chest and abdomen, and an IV tube may be inserted to inject a contrast drug to improve the quality of heart images. Patients will have a cardiopulmonary stress test (treadmill test) and a 6-minute walk test, both before pacemaker implantation and then 6 months afterward. Also before and after pacemaker implantation, patients will complete the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire, regarding the impact of heart failure on patients' lives. The follow-up visit will take 3 to 4 hours.

The purpose of this study is to collect data on the medical management of patients presenting to the Emergency Department who are treated for Acute Decompensated Heart Failure (ADHF) in a hospital setting that has incorporated a disease management program for heart failure.

The RAPID-RF Registry aims to characterize LATITUDE® Patient Management's alert feature: LATITUDE Active Monitoring™ by evaluating type and frequency of alert notifications and alert-related medical interventions. This registry will also assess clinical outcomes including quality of life and New York Heart Association Class changes over time, mortality, hospitalizations and heart failure-related event rates.

To use existing longitudinal data from the Chicago Heart Association and Western Electric Company studies to examine adiposity in relation to heart failure, multimorbidity and to examine heart rate in relation to incident diabetes.

To evaluate the relation of retinal microvascular characteristics to subclinical cardiovascular disease, clinical disease, and their risk factors in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) cohort.

To assess the diagnostic and prognostic usefulness of serum markers of left ventricular remodeling for predicting congestive heart failure.

To examine temporal trends from 1995 and 2000 in the incidence rates of heart failure, its therapeutic management, and changes over time in the hospital and long-term survival of patients with heart failure.