Active clinical trials for "Coronary Artery Disease"

Aortocoronary bypass surgery is one of the most common operations in the western world. The goal of the surgeon is to perform a complete revascularization of the coronary arteries with the best, available bypass material. Aortocoronary bypass surgery can be performed with (on-pump) or without (off-pump) the heart lung machine. If the operation is performed without the heart lung machine, the heart is continuously beating while the surgeon sews the bypass to the diseased coronary artery. In randomized trials, the benefits of the off-pump technique in the hands of experienced surgeons in terms of shorter operating times, less transfusions and less pulmonary and renal complications were proven. A criticism of the off-pump technique is the reduced number of distal anastomoses, which means that fewer coronary arteries may be connected with bypass grafts because of the technically sophisticated situation. A worse quality of the connection (anastomosis) between coronary artery and bypass is often discussed, leading to a bypass occlusion already in the early stage after surgery resulting in more re-interventions on the coronary vessels. So-called silent bypass failure without clinical correlation has been examined in three relevant studies including both, the on- and the off-pump technique, with inhomogenous results. In addition to the technique, other parameters such as the degree of narrowing (stenosis) of the diseased coronary artery and collateralization of a closed coronary artery may play a role in early occlusion. All bypass patients after off-pump surgery receive routinely a computed tomographic examination of the heart. With this method, silent bypass occlusions without clinical correlation, i.e. cardiac infarction, elevated cardiac laboratory parameters or ECG changes, can be detected easily. In case of an occlusion of a relevant bypass, an intervention before discharge can be planned and performed. We would like to investigate the occlusion rate of this retrospective patient cohort after off-pump surgery and the potential risk factors, that may influence on early graft failure. We hypothesize, that early graft failure depends not only on the choice of the graft material, but also on the local grade of coronary stenosis, the collateralisation of occluded coronary vessels and the intraoperative flow results, as well as on the region of the target vessel.

The primary aim of this study is to examine if long-term patterns of alcohol consumption are associated with time-to-onset for incident coronary heart disease (fatal and non-fatal), using data from multiple cohorts.

Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA) contrast opacification gradients and FFR-CT estimation can aid in the severity estimation of significant atherosclerotic lesions. Currently, FFR-CT algorithms can only be optimized using theoretical models and can only be validated in large multi-center clinical trials. Using patient specific 3D printed coronary phantoms would allow optimization of FFR-CT algorithms with a measured validation technique without the need for large clinical trials. Thus the investigators believe that this study will result in a FFR-CT algorithm/method with a better predictability for arterial lesion severity than those existing on the market today. Flow measurements will be compared with: CT-FFR for both patients and phantoms, angio lab FFR measurements and 30 days follow-up. This pilot clinical study includes ~50 patients over a year and half at GVI.

Identification of patients who are at highest risk for heart attack is an important task for emergency medicine physicians. Currently, physicians use a variety of different scoring systems to stratify their risk for having a heart attack. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a measure derived from noninvasive cardiac monitoring. This data is collected from a simple, non-invasive chest strap during a 10-minute recording session. The purpose of this proposal is to collect heart rate variability data on patients admitted to the emergency department with chest pain. The intent is to measure the association between heart rate variability and the various risk stratification scoring systems for chest pain.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the precision of semi-automated lumen boundary identification from coronary computed tomography angiography (cCTA) by current version of HeartFlow software and the impact on fractional flow reserve (FFRCT) by using optical coherence tomography (OCT) as reference standard.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the relationship between fractional flow reserve (FFR) derived from coronary computed tomography angiography (FFRct) before transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and FFR after TAVR so as to investigate whether FFRct is useful for evaluating myocardial ischemia of severe AS. Furthermore, by measuring the instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) which is a physiological diagnostic method of coronary artery stenosis before and after TAVR and comparing iFR (iFR before and after TAVR) and FFR (FFR after TAVR) with FFRct (FFRct before and after TAVR), It also aims to deepen understanding of resting coronary artery physiology in aortic valve stenosis.

Observational, prospective multicentric, national study, evaluating the diagnostic and therapeutic pathways of patient with cronic coronary artery disease followed in Italian cardiology centers.

Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is a visceral adipose tissue that surrounds the heart and the coronary arteries. It is metabolically active, secreting pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators and cytokines. With increasing EAT volume, inflammatory activity increasing, which suggests that EAT may locally influence atherosclerosis development in the coronary artery tree. The amount of EAT is associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors as well as presence and progression of subclinical atherosclerosis. Likewise, EAT volume is increased in patient with prevalent and incident coronary artery disease manifestation. In the setting of acute coronary syndrome, EAT was found to be associated with the TIMI risk score and Syntax II score. While CT imaging of the heart is the gold standard for EAT quantification, transthoracic echocardiography allows for a quick and reliable assessment of EAT thickness, as has been used in research studies and may qualify for routine EAT assessment in clinical routine.However, currently data on how quantification of EAT in clinical routine may impact patient management is lacking. We aim to investigate, whether quantification of EAT thickness via transthoracic echocardiography enables improved risk stratification in patients presenting with acute chest pain to the emergency department.

the purpose of this study is to determine whether appropriate control of diabetes around the PCI time is related with MACE and outcome of diabetic patients.

Myocardial injury is common in patients without acute coronary syndrome, and therefore international guidelines propose a classification of patients with myocardial infarction by aetiology. This differentiates between myocardial infarction due to plaque rupture (type 1) and myocardial oxygen supply-demand imbalance (type 2) in other acute illnesses. However, these guidelines have not been widely adopted as the diagnostic criteria for type 2 myocardial infarction are not clearly defined. Patients with type 2 myocardial infarction have poor long term outcomes, with at least twice the mortality at five years compared to those with an index type 1 myocardial infarction. Despite the majority of deaths being attributable to non-cardiovascular events, the rate of future type 1 myocardial infarction or cardiovascular death is similar regardless of index classification. If this future risk is related to the presence of underlying coronary artery disease, then there may be the potential to improve outcomes through targeted investigation and secondary prevention. The investigators will undertake a systematic evaluation of the mechanism of myocardial injury and the role of coronary artery disease in 100 patients with elevated cardiac troponin concentrations where the diagnosis is likely to be type 2 myocardial infarction. These studies will help improve the assessment of patients with myocardial injury, refine the diagnostic criteria for type 2 myocardial infarction, and aid the design of future therapeutic trials.