Active clinical trials for "Coronary Disease"

Young patients requiring myocardial revascularization are generally considered at low operative risk, but data on their immediate and late outcome are scarce. The decision-making process in these young patients is complicated by the potentially aggressive nature of premature coronary artery disease and their likely long expectancy of life, which expose them to a significantly higher risk of recurrent coronary events as well as the need of repeat revascularization. The lack of data on long-term outcome as well as on operative details (in particular, on the use of arterial grafts) and peri- and postoperative medication prevent any conclusive results on the durability either of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in these young patients. Furthermore, recent advances in stents technology as well in peri- and postoperative medical treatment indicate the need a comparative study to define the baseline characteristics of patients aged < 50 years undergoing either PCI or CABG and to evaluate their current immediate and late outcome.

Percutaneous coronary intervention with stenting may induce endothelial damage/dysfunction and inflammatory reactions, which in turn delay healing and endothelialization and may lead to the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), such as restenosis, atherosclerosis, and stent thrombosis. Drugs, platforms and polymers are considered the protagonists of these pathophysiologic processes. The objectives of the INERT study is to assess the extent of inflammation and endothelial damage induced by the first carbonized bio-absorbable coated rapamycin-eluting coronary stent at time of percutaneous coronary intervention and correlate the extent of these abnormalities with short and long-term clinical outcome and post-procedural evaluation of success. As part of the study, a randomized sub-study will be carried out at the Coordinating Center in order to compare the biohumoral, clinical and procedural findings between patients with the carbonized bio-absorbable coated rapamycin-eluting coronary stent and those randomly assigned to receive stents with different platforms and polymers.

Coffee is a worldwide drink, been part of any culture. There are some concerns about effects of coffee on the health. Recently, epidemiological studies have shown benefits of coffee drinking to diabetics and also to prevent diabetes in populations. We aim to understand some effects of coffee and not only caffeine over vascular system, in special coronary artery disease patients, diabetics end normal people.

Omacor®/Lovaza® is an effective, and very safe mix of PO-3A, and the drug is currently approved by the Federal authorities for the drug management of post-infarction patients with high blood triglycerides. Given the growing length of CAD progression, it is pertinent that many more patients will yield extra benefit from Lovaza® on top of aggressive antiplatelet regimens and statin due to severity of their vascular disease. Therefore, mild antiplatelet properties of PO-3A will be a highly desirable and attractive commodity of this medication. The investigators believe that Omacor®/Lovaza® is ideally positioned for the chronic management of CAD as a safe, efficient, and "gentle" agent with no harmful interactions with statins or aspirin. The investigators hypothesize that addition of Omacor may add mild antiplatelet protection for CAD patients. The study objectives are: To assess the ex vivo effects of Omacor® on platelet function in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). To compare ex vivo platelet-related effects after 7 and 14 days of therapy with Omacor and statin combination versus statin alone in patients with chronic stable coronary heart disease. To establish the relation of changes in platelet activity (if any) with the lipid profile to prove an additional benefit of Omacor® on top of statin and aspirin.

The recognition of the association between circulating C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) has led to an increased emphasis on CRP genetic effects on CRP level and CHD. However, the causality of CRP variants remains uncertain.The objective of this study is to evaluate the association of CRP gene variants and CRP levels in CHD in Chinese Han population. We conduct case-control study in CRP-Han study participants. The common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CRP gene, haplotypes, and plasma CRP levels are detected. A Mendelian randomization analysis will be used to help test the likelihood of causal association of gene-CRP levels, CRP levels-CHD and gene-CHD. The investigators hypothesize that CRP gene variants influence the protein level and may participate in CHD progress.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the long term efficacy and safety of firebird sirolimus-eluting stent for treatment of complex coronary Lesions.

Objective: The purpose of the present study is to assess if perioperative variation of Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) levels is a predictor of mortality and morbidity after cardiac surgery.Material and Methods: 500 consecutive patients will be enrolled prospectively in this study before cardiac surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass. BNP levels will be measured prior to surgery and at postoperative day 1. Variations of BNP levels will be analyzed to determine if it is a predictor of mortality and morbidity after cardiac surgery. This dynamic evaluation will be compared to other tools of risk stratification in cardiac surgery as the EuroScore. All patients will be followed 3 years after the procedure. Hypothesis: Perioperative BNP variations may be more sensitive than pre- or postoperative BNP levels alone. Furthermore the perioperative homeostasis will be measured to assess its impact on BNP secretion during the perioperative period.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a symmetric, peripheral polyarthritis of uncertain etiology that can lead to joint deformity and destruction. However, the effects of RA are not confined simply to joint involvement. Virtually every organ system can be affected by RA if left untreated. Of particular note is RA's affect on the cardiovascular system. RA patients have a reduced lifespan compared to the general population primarily due to an increased cardiovascular disease burden (1). Recently, RA has been linked to the development of preclinical atherosclerosis in the carotid arteries as measured by ultrasonography (2). Women with RA have also been shown to have an increased incidence of nonfatal myocardial infarctions (3). Despite these studies showing the effects of RA on the cardiovascular disease burden of those who are afflicted, no study to date has compared the number of cardiovascular events in a large RA patient population to a risk factor and age matched control group. Consequently it is the goal of this study to determine whether the cardiovascular event ratio in an RA patient cohort exceeds an age and risk factor matched cohort of non-RA patients. This study will also attempt to ascertain whether specific cardiovascular risk factors contribute to the cardiovascular morbidity and mortality associated with RA and if any standard cardiovascular medicines disproportionately contribute to patient outcome. Hypothesis: Given the increased cardiovascular disease burden associated with RA patients they are likely to suffer from a statistically significant increased risk of cardiovascular events when compared to an age and risk factor matched cohort.

The trial will investigate the accuracy of Dual Source CT coronary angiography to detect coronary artery stenoses in patients with chest pain who have, based on clinical criteria, an intermediate likelihood for the presence of coronary artery stenoses. No beta blockers will be used to lower the heart rate for the examination. The hypothesis is that Dual Source CT will allow the detection of vessels with at least one coronary artery stenosis with a sensitivity of more than 90%.

The main purpose of this study is to examine the contribution of personality traits to marital satisfaction and well -being among couples coping with Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) and couples from the general population, and to health promoting behaviors and physical recovery among the ill partners.