Active clinical trials for "Heart Failure"

Telehomecare is a technology that individuals use in their homes to communicate with health providers electronically. This technology can help them function at a higher level and avoid undesirable hospitalizations by making changes in their everyday behaviors, but research is needed to understand how telehomecare supports health behavior change and leads to improved health status. The hypothesis being tested is that the use of an electronic method of monitoring and transmitting health information facilitates patient empowerment, with subsequent effects on the patient's ability to manage her/his treatment regimen more effectively. The study will explore the relationship between telehomecare and acquisition of knowledge, and will show whether changes in knowledge levels translate to changes in behaviors and improved health outcomes. The effects of two different telehomecare systems (nurse-directed vs. patient-directed) on knowledge, self-management, and health status will be compared. A further goal is to illuminate the attitudes of physicians regarding the use of telehomecare in the treatment of their elderly, community dwelling patients. Results will inform managers and policymakers who are responsible for integrating eHealth mechanisms into chronic disease protocols, funding health care programs, and creating policies that support the use of information technology by all Americans.

The purpose of this safety study is to evaluate NATRECOR® hBNP (a recombinant form of the natural human peptide normally secreted by the heart in response to heart failure), in subjects with worsening congestive heart failure for whom inpatient intravenous therapy with medications that influence the tone and caliber of blood vessels is deemed appropriate.

Heart failure is a progressive disease that decreases the pumping action of the heart. This may cause a backup of fluid in the heart and may result in heart beat changes. When there are changes in the heartbeat, sometimes a pacemaker is used to control the rate and rhythm of the heartbeat. In this trial, the researchers will test if pacing both the left and right lower half of the heart (ventricles) will: decrease the number of hospital and clinic visits due to heart failure symptoms extend life delay heart failure symptoms as compared to those who are paced in only one ventricle (the right ventricle)

This trial is a single center, open-label, dose-finding study of recombinant human relaxin (rhRlx) given intravenously (IV) to patients with stable, compensated CHF.

To test whether treatment with the angiotensin II receptor antagonist Irbesartan improves insulin sensitivity and metabolic profile in patients with chronic heart failure.

The purpose of this study is to determine if reducing blood flow to an exercising muscle during exercise training will enhance the training effect on that muscle in people who have limited exercise because of congestive heart failure

The goal of the investigators' study is to further understand the potentially beneficial effects of statin therapy in patients with heart failure. It is hypothesized that statins will 1) increase the heart's pumping ability 2) improve functioning of the sympathetic nervous system and 3) decrease immune activation in heart failure.

The primary objective of this clinical investigation is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the EASYTRAK 3 Downsize Lead.

The purpose of the study is to determine the effectiveness of a home-delivered variant of the chronic disease self management program in improving health outcomes in patients with chronic conditions.

Introduction: Moderate-intensity endurance-training is known to reduce symptoms, increase exercise tolerance, and improve quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure. The training benefits have mainly been attributed to adaptations in the peripheral circulation and skeletal muscle rather than to adaptations in cardiac performance. However attenuation of left ventricular (LV) remodelling has been documented in some studies. The effects of high- vs. moderate exercise-intensity on LV-remodelling and endothelial function in patients with post-infarction heart failure are not definitively established and were studied in the present study. Methods: Patients with post-infarction heart failure (45-87 yrs, 22-males, 5-females, all received b-blockers and ACE-inhibitors, EF 29%, peak oxygen uptake 13 ml/kg/min) were randomized to 12-weeks, 2-3 times per week, of either moderate exercise-intensity (70% of peak heart rate), high-intensity interval-training (95% of peak heart rate) or to a control group that received advise from their regular doctors. Patients in the two exercise-groups covered similar distance on the treadmill at each exercise-session so that only exercise-intensity differed; i.e. the duration of exercise was longer in the moderate-intensity group. Ultrasound was used to assess LV-dimension and function (including Tissue Doppler Imaging, TDI) and endothelial function in the brachial-artery.