Active clinical trials for "Myocardial Ischemia"

SPECT is currently the dominant clinical test for diagnostic and prognostic purposes as well as therapeutic decision-making. Given the shortage of nuclear reactor-produced Tc, advancing the use of non-isotope based imaging modalities has the potential to change the standard of care for patients with CAD as each one of these technics (CMR, CT, Stress echocardiography) has its own distinct potential advantages over SPECT.

The purpose of this study is to understand the use of Corus CAD also known as Age/Sex/Gene Expression score (ASGES) in the clinical decision making process of patients who underwent the evaluation of chest pain or anginal equivalent symptoms. Specifically, to better understand whether the use of the assay in clinical decision making resulted in changes in noninvasive diagnostic test ordering or diagnostic yield of additional tests ordered and/or invasive angiography.

The electrocardiogram (ECG) is an important diagnostic procedure in medicine mainly to detect circulation disorders and problems of the spread of the electrical heart impulse. It is frequently the first measure in clinical practice when angina pectoris, acute myocardial infarction or an arrhythmia are suspected. The ECG is easy to perform, safe and cheap. Posture changes are known to cause alterations of the ECG [1]. Deviation of the electrical heart axis (EHA) [2], temporary changes of the QRS morphology and ST-segment alterations are of particular importance in view of diagnostic accuracy [3], [4]. In ambulatory ECG recordings ST-segment alterations for instance might mistakenly be interpreted as cardiac ischemia [5]. Artifacts could be minimized by the concurrent determination of the deviation of the electrical heart axis [6] [7]or by using posture detectors [8] helping to correlate ECG changes to posture changes. Due to the emergence of new computer based opportunities ambulatory ECG in the sense of home monitoring is an emerging market. Together with the superiority compared to the scalar ECG in detecting certain pathologies, like myocardial infarction and right ventricular hypertrophy, the VCG gained new interest in recent years [9]. Four ECG leads are sufficient to synthesize a standard 12-lead ECG from a VCG and vice versa with a transformation matrix [10] [11].The redirection of the spatial VCG after posture changes has been determined for the QRS loop with the Frank leads, which is the reference method for constructing the VCG [12][13]. 4 leads of an ambulatory ECG are sufficient to construct the VCG if arranged approximately in the position of three rectangular axes. Doctors are best trained to interpret standard 12 lead ECGs. With optimization of the leads of ambulatory (Holter) ECG towards the three rectangular axes, this might allow mathematical transformation into the standard 12 lead ECG. A precondition would be that the transformation matrix is independent of posture. To date, transformation matrix between Frank VCG and standard 12 lead ECG has only been calculated in resting ECGs [5]. This is the first study which investigates the transformation matrix in different postures. Additionally, the investigators will investigate for the first time prospectively for known artefacts of stress testing and ambulatory ECGs. Aim: Simultaneous prospective recording of the standard 12 lead ECG and the Frank-lead VCG in different postures is expected to add information on potential causes of artifacts of the ECG caused by posture changes. During continuous recording, the investigators will investigate the accuracy of the linear affine transformation with posture, the occurrence (dimension and duration) of ECG/ VCG morphology changes and ST-segment alterations, and VCG angle changes in dependence of posture changes in healthy young men. Hypothesis The investigators hypothesis is that the transformation matrix between Frank-Lead VCG and standard 12-lead ECG is posture dependent. Artefacts of the ECG due to posture changes are systematic. The knowledge of the systematics improves the diagnostic accuracy of ambulatory ECG and stress testing.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a pleiotropic cytokine that promote the inflammatory response.In animal studies, it has been found that MIF is released in the ischaemic heart, promoting glucose uptake and protecting the heart from ischaemia-reperfusion injury.The MIF concentration, influenced by age and myocardial ischemia, have different impact on myocardial functional recovery after ischemia.Therefore, the purpose of this experiment is to study the clinical significance of MIF in patients with coronary heart disease.

The purpose of the study is to investigate the clinical and morphological characteristics of chronic subclinical inflammation in the myocardium in patients with decompensated heart failure with ischemic systolic dysfunction.

Ticagrelor is a direct-acting, reversible platelet P2Y12 receptor inhibitor recommended by the recent European Society of Cardiology guidelines in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) (class of recommendation I, level of evidence B). Ticagrelor inhibits platelet function stronger, faster and more consistently than clopidogrel, the former standard of antiplatelet therapy. In the landmark PLATO trial (Study of PLATelet inhibition and patient Outcomes), ticagrelor therapy as compared with clopidogrel treatment was associated with the reduced occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality, but also resulted in a small, but statistically significant, increase in the rate of major bleeding. The optimum choice of antiplatelet treatment, aimed to provide each patient with maximum protection against ischemic events, while minimizing the risk of bleeding complications, is the challenge of contemporary ACS therapy. The tool which may help physicians and facilitate clinical decision making is platelet function testing. According to the guidance of both European and American groups of experts, there are three currently recommended platelet function tests, namely the VerifyNow device, the Multiplate analyzer and the Vasodilator Stimulated Phosphoprotein Phosphorylation (VASP) assay. It needs to be emphasized that none of these three methods is preferred over others. So far there are no studies linking pharmacokinetic analysis of ticagrelor and its active metabolite with comparative evaluation of platelet reactivity. The aim of this trial is to assess the relationship between concentrations of ticagrelor and its active metabolite (AR-C124910XX) and results of all three recommended platelet function tests in patients with myocardial infarction. Patients who receive GP IIb/IIIa receptor inhibitor will be excluded from the primary analysis. Statistical analysis: The correlation will be assessed using correlation coefficients and intraclass correlation coefficients. while the agreement between the results of the compared platelet function tests will be measured using the Kappa statistic and Bland-Altman analysis.

The SYNTAX III Revolution trial is a randomized diagnostic research study that investigates the use of CT scan and angiogram of the heart to help doctors decide which method is the best to improve blood supply to the heart in patients with complex coronary artery disease. Each patient will undergo an angiogram and CT scan per standard of care. The randomization strategy in this study is not between patients but between two teams of doctors, the so-called "Heart Teams", will be randomized: in the first round, team 1 assesses the angiogram, and team 2 assesses the CT scan. Then they make a decision about which treatment would be the best to treat complex coronary artery disease. In the second round, both teams see the imaging method that they did not see in the first round, and make the decision again. The final decision on the clinical treatment strategy is at the sole discretion of the Heart Team and there are no criteria described in SYNTAXIII Revolution protocol leading influencing this final decision. Hypothesis: Determination of the best treatment strategy for coronary artery disease based on a CT scan will result in similar decisions as based on invasive coronary angiography.

The purpose of this investigation is to determine the prevalence of device-recorded ST segment changes occurring before appropriate Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator (ICD) therapies (ATP or Shock) and to define their temporal relationship to ventricular arrhythmias.

Patients who present with chest pain are investigated with tests designed to confirm or exclude the presence of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), as well as determine risk of poor outcome. It is not known which imaging test would be best when used first for investigating a patient presenting with exertional chest pain. This trial is designed to compare outcomes of the use of coronary CT, stress echocardiography and nuclear perfusion (SPECT) in a pilot study. Patients with no history of coronary disease presenting with chest pain will be randomly assigned to one of the three test modalities as the initial imaging test. The three imaging strategies will be compared regarding the subsequent use of healthcare resources over a year.

This study is to evaluate the prevalence, plaque characteristics (plaque types, stenosis degree, remodeling) and predictors of coronary atherosclerosis in stroke patients with coronary CT angiography.