Active clinical trials for "Syncope"

Vasovagal Syncope (simple postural faint) is the most common cause of acute loss of consciousness. Postural tachycardia syndrome(POTS) is the most common chronic form of postural lightheadedness. Together they afflict many Americans, mostly young women, who are prevented from gainful employ or school attendance. The underlying mechanism is not known. Our past work suggests that a simple molecule, nitric oxide, acts to subvert normal blood flow controls causing blood to pool in the gut when standing. Our proposal will show the mechanism behind this problem and will indicate effective medical treatments. Patients will be compared to healthy control subjects.

Background: Autonomic system modification is an established therapeutic approach that has been increasingly used for the treatment of vagal-related symptomatic bradycardia, such as cardio-inhibitory vasovagal syncope1-12. Although convincing results had been reported from small populations, a large randomized study providing robust evidence on the efficacy of this approach has not yet been performed. Hypothesis: Cardiac autonomic system modification is effective for the treatment of vagal-related symptomatic bradycardia, and is associated better clinical results as compared to placebo.

The goal of this study is to compare the heart signals that are received by a new heart monitoring device called the HeartWatch to heart signals that are recorded by existing monitors used in cardiology clinics today. The main question[s] it aims to answer are: Does the HeartWatch recording allow characterization of tagged and abnormal arrhythmia events that are equivalent to the existing Event Recorder and Holter devices? Does the HeartWatch recording allow for detection of QRS complexes that are equivalent to the predicate Holter lead I reference signal? Participants who have been recommended to receive a heart monitor for heart rhythm assessment will asked to wear the HeartWatch armband monitor at the same time as the standard heart monitor. They will be asked to flag symptoms (if they occur) on either the HeartWatch or on the Helpwear Smartphone. When their monitoring session for the standard heart monitor is complete, then the monitoring session for the HeartWatch armband is also complete.

This registry is performed for the long-term assessment of outcome, performance and residual safety aspects of the BIOMONITOR III and possible successors in a real-life clinical set-up. In addition, this registry is set up in a way that it may also be used as a platform for submodules to investigate additional scientific and regulatory aspects while minimizing the additional effort for the investigational sites and patients.

Actually, there are few data about the effectiveness of remote monitoring (RM) and patient centered alarms setting in patients with unexplained syncope underwent implanted loop recorder (ILR) monitoring. The aim of this study is to evaluate the time from onset of first physician's evaluation of asyntomatic ECG events lead to medical treatment in ordinary clinical practice for syncope patients with ILR patients and compare it between patients followed with RM or conventionally with annual in-hospital visits.

Syncope, or transient loss of consciousness, is a common reason for visit to the Emergency Department and often leads to extensive testing and hospitalization. Using objective risk scores to determine which patients with syncope will actually benefit from these interventions, and which can be safely discharged home with minimal testing, is critical to providing sensible medical care. This study will evaluate the validity of two syncope risk-stratification tools and investigate their impact on healthcare utilization and patient safety, thus improving the quality of care for the 1-2 million patients who experience syncope every year in the United States

At least 5% of patients with vasovagal syncope also have Sleep Syncope. Patients awake from sleep with profound malaise and gastrointestinal vagal symptoms. About 75% have severe nausea and about 40% have lower abdominal cramps. Some faint while supine, but most find their symptoms so severe that they rise quickly and hurry to the bathroom. Sometime either on the way to the toilet, near it, or shortly afterwards they faint. The nausea is followed by vomiting, and the cramps by watery diarrhea. After relief the patients remain presyncopal, diaphoretic, and tired. Almost all patients also have clinical vasovagal syncope during daytime hours. The cause of this is unknown. Orthostatic stress cannot be a factor in triggering the event, and in isolated case reports it occurs during non-REM sleep. There is no classic provocative situation of pain, the sight of trauma, or the presence of medical settings. These suggest the importance of central processes and the reduced likelihood that strategies that target maintaining preload (such as with midodrine and fludrocortisone) would be helpful. As well, midodrine is avoided during the night. Recently the investigators reasoned that if the investigators could rapidly suppress the nausea patients could remain supine, wait out the nausea, and not faint with orthostatic stress. Ondansetron is a potent anti-nausea medication that has rapidly dissolving preparations. Nine patients were instructed to keep one at the bedside, insert it upon waking up with nausea, remain in bed, and raise their legs (if possible). There was partial success with ondansetron 4 mg and complete success with ondansetron 8 mg. This remarkable but anecdotal observation requires formal testing. Research Objectives: the investigators will test the hypothesis that ondansetron 8 mg prn sublingually on awakening with moderate to severe nausea prevents loss of consciousness in patients with prior Sleep Syncope who awaken with malaise and nausea. Study Design & Methodology: The main study will be a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized, crossover clinical trial. The primary outcome will be the progression of awakening with nausea to syncope. Thirty patients with Sleep Syncope will be randomized 1:1 to receive packages of either ondansetron 8 mg sublingual tablets or matching placebo. They will each receive 3 boxes of 10 tabs, with refills available if needed. Each crossover period will last 6 months. In a substudy the investigators will test whether the predominant disturbed physiology is bradycardia, decreased venous return, or decreased systemic vascular resistance. This will be assessed using a unique, small, wearable blood pressure sensor that can be rapidly donned on the ear. It records heart rate and beat-to-beat waveforms, which permit estimating stroke volume, systemic vascular resistance, and cardiac output. the investigators will record these variables in all patients continuously from when the device is put on until 30 minutes afterwards. the investigators hypothesize that unlike during syncope provoked by head-up tilt testing, here there will be no decrease in preload until patients arise, and that the main physiologic disturbance during syncope is hypotension due to decreased preload superimposed on heart rate collapse. Anticipated Outcomes: If successful, this research would be i) the first to report a well-tolerated and highly effective treatment for most sleep syncope, and ii) the first to report the physiology of brain-initiated vasovagal syncope in the community outside a laboratory environment.

The essential arterial hypotension and allostasis registry is a prospective, observational research that has the purpose of demonstrating that essential blood pressure (BP) disorders and the associated comorbidities are a result of the inappropriate allostatic response to daily life stress. This required a functioning brain orchestrating the evaluation of the threat and choosing the response, this is a mind-mediated phenomenon. If the response is excessive it contributes to high BP, if deficient to low BP, and the BP itself will identify the allostatic pattern, which in turn will play an important role in the development of the comorbidities. To do so, consecutive patients of any age and gender that visit a cardiologist's office in Medellin, Colombia, are recruited. Individuals are classified according to their arterial BP and allostasis and follow them in time to see what kind of diseases develops the most (including BP) in the follow up according to the categorization of the characteristic chosen and after adjustment for confounder's variables. In addition, stress events with their date are registered. HYPOTHESIS The causes of the diseases are multifactorial. Physical, biochemical, psychological, social, and cultural dimensions of development dynamically interact to shape the health development process. A person´s health depends on their: Biological and physiologic systems External and internal environment (a) physical, b) internal behavioural and arousal state as registered by the brain. Their interaction. The allostatic mechanisms to the internal and external stressors (allostatic load) involves a network composed by: Functional systems; mediated by: The Autonomic Nervous System The endocrine system The immune system Structural changes: whenever the internal and/or external stressors are long lasting and/or strength enough, they may induce changes in: Epigenetic, endophenotypes, polyphenism. Plasticity The interaction between a) and b). The network response do not affect exclusively the BP, propitiating the development of comorbidities, which may prompt strategies for prevention, recognition and ultimately, treatment. The allostatic model defines health as a state of responsiveness. The concept of psycho-biotype: The allostasis is the result of both: biological (allostasis) and psychological (psychostasis) abilities. It is proposed that both components behave in similar direction and magnitude. Immune disorders may be associated with the development of cancer. High BP population has a higher sympathetic and lower vagal tone, this has been associated with a decrease in the immune´s system function. Resources and energy depletion: Terms like weathering have been used to describe how exposures to different allostatic loads gradually scrape away at the protective coating that keeps people healthy. It is postulated that High BP individuals have more resources and energy.

This study will be a comparison of two externally worn recording systems for documentation of cardiac arrhythmias in symptomatic patients or patients at risk for arrhythmia. Non-invasive documentation of cardiac arrhythmias can be done using the standard electrocardiogram (ECG). This has limitations given it is performed for only a 10 sec period. Alternative methods for making longer term recording have been developed. The standard device is the 24 hour 7-lead Holter monitor. Newer technology has simplified the hardware needed to make these longer term recordings, and incorporate a self-contained recording system in a patch that is applied over the patient's chest. Little is known comparing the sensitivity, specificity and recording noise / signal artifact between the older technology (standard 24-Hour Holter monitor) and the Patch electrode.

The study will systematically evaluate how an emergency manual-a collection of checklists and fact sheets-affects the performance of resuscitation teams during the management of priority one patients in an emergency department.