
Genetics of Congenital Heart Disease
Congenital Heart DiseaseCongenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common type of birth defect but the cause for the majority of cardiac birth defects remains unknown. Numerous epidemiologic studies have demonstrated evidence that genetic factors likely play a contributory, if not causative, role in CHD. While numerous genes have been identified by us and other investigators using traditional genetic approaches, these genes only account for a minority of the non-syndromic CHDs. Therefore, we are now utilizing whole genome sequencing (WGS), with the addition of more traditional genetic techniques such as chromosomal microarray or traditional linkage analysis, to identify genetic causes of familial and isolated CHD. With WGS we are able to sequence all of the genetic material of an individual and apply different data analysis techniques based on whether we are analyzing a multiplex family or a cohort of trios (mother, father and child with CHD) with a specific isolated CHD. Therefore, WGS is a robust method for identification of novel genetic causes of CHD which will have important diagnostic and therapeutic consequences for these children.

The PAtients pResenTing With COngenital HeaRt DIseAse Register (ARTORIA-R)
Congenital Heart DiseaseHeart Failure4 moreAdvances in surgical and medical care have led to improved outcomes in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). As a consequence, the majority of patients nowadays survives to adulthood (adults with CHD, that is, adult CHD [ACHD]) with good quality of life. Despite the surgical success, the morbidity and mortality of ACHD is higher than in the general population and is linked to the development of heart failure (HF) in adulthood. HF occurs in approximately 25% of patients with ACHD, even in those patients in whom the congenital mal-formation has been corrected successfully in childhood. The time course and presentation are heterogeneous owing to variable congenital malformation and limitation of treatment options. ACHD with an anatomic right ventricle as the systemic ventricle (e.g., atrial switch operation in patients with transposition of the great arteries [TGAs]) and those with a functional single ventricle (e.g., Fontan circulation) appear to be at higher risk of developing HF. Young age at initial corrective surgery-often in the first 2 years of life-and lack of specific medical therapies can contribute to a high and early demand for heart transplantation in patients with ACHD.

Fetal Cardiac Remodeling in Singleton Pregnancies Conceived by Assisted Reproductive Technology...
Fetal Cardiac DisorderThe study aims to assess the presence of fetal cardiac remodeling and dysfunction in singleton pregnancies conceived by assisted reproductive technology (Biopsied and Non-Biopsied ICSI) as compared with those conceived spontaneously (SC).

Plaque Stability and Metabolomics in Coronary Heart Disease
Coronary Artery DiseaseAt present, the investigators don't know the relationship between plaque stability and the metabonomics changes. In the present study, investigators will evaluate the plaque stability by intravascular unltrasound in stable coronary heart patients, and metabonomics was also assessed by high throughput sequencing. Statistic analysis were carried out to analyze the correlation between plaque stability and metabonomics changes among these study patients.

Outcomes and Health Care Resource Utilization in Pediatric Congenital Heart Disease Patients Undergoing...
Congenital Heart Disease in ChildrenThe incidence of moderate to severe congenital heart disease (CHD) in the United States is estimated to be 6 per 1000 live-born full term infants. Recent advances in pediatric cardiology, surgery and critical care have significantly improved the survival rates of patients with CHD leading to an increase in prevalence in both children and adults. Children with CHD significant enough to require cardiac surgery frequently also undergo non-cardiac surgical procedures. Analysis of the Pediatric Health Information System database between 2004 and 2012 demonstrated that 41% of children who had undergone surgery to correct CHD in the first year of life also underwent at least one non-cardiac surgery by age 5. With this increased demand for non-cardiac procedures, anesthesiologists, pediatricians and other healthcare providers will encounter patients with repaired or unrepaired CHD and other cardiac diseases in their practice. However, the information provided by national databases lack granularity and the information from single institutional data is limited. This project aims to address this knowledge gap in quantifying the risk for cardiac patients coming for noncardiac procedures and identify the health care resource utilization and system to best care for this patient population. To conduct this study, we will create a multi-institutional collaboration between large and small centers to create a unique dataset spanning all the different variables that need to be considered in risk prediction for these patients including patient variables, hospital setting, and providers. The aggregate multiinstitutional data set may be used for benchmarking for national quality improvement efforts.

SMART Watch Facilitated Early Discharge in Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement...
Aortic StenosisValvular Heart Disease1 moreThe purpose of this study is to observe conduction disturbance, daily activity level, heart rates, oxygen saturation in patients who underwent Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) and to evaluate the utility of the HUAWEI Watch (HUAWEI Technologies Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China) for the potential early warning sign of changes in multiple biometric parameters including heart rate, rhythm, oxygen saturation, activity, and sleep in patients following TAVR. This will be evaluated in the context of a recently implemented early discharge protocol.

Prospective Coronary Heart Disease Cohort
Coronary Heart DiseaseMyocardial InfarctionTo evaluate the biomarkers for the prognosis of coronary heart disease, patients with coronary heart disease will be recruited and followed up for at least 2 years.

Registry for Mayo Clinic Adult Congenital Heart Disease Control Population
HealthyThis research study is being done to provide comparative data to the Mayo Clinic Adult Congenital Heart Disease Registry.

Predicting the Risk of Non-culprit Coronary Artery Disease After a Heart Attack
Coronary Artery DiseaseST Elevation Myocardial Infarction1 moreHeart attacks caused by the complete blockage of a heart artery are treated by opening it with a stent. However, most people will also have 'non-culprit' narrowings found in their other arteries at this time. Although in general people do better if these non-culprit narrowings are also treated with stents if they look severe, this process has problems. This is because narrowings that look severe may be stable and not cause any trouble. For these people a stent is a wasted procedure and unnecessary risk. On the other hand, narrowings that are currently left alone because they appear mild, may progress and cause a heart attack. Participants who have had a heart attack will have a scan from inside the heart arteries during an angiogram (optical coherence tomography, OCT) and a magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA). If the investigators can show that it is possible to accurately predict which non-culprit narrowings are going to progress and which are going to stabilise, medical professionals may be able to better target their treatments after a heart attack.

Prevalence Study of Cardiovascular Diseases in a Population ≥ 65 Years in Italy
Valvular Heart DiseaseMitral Valve Disease3 moreThis registry is a large-scale epidemiological study (PREVASC) aimed at estimating the prevalence of symptomatic and asymptomatic valvular hear disease in men and women aged over 65 years randomly selected in Italy.