Active clinical trials for "Heart Diseases"

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of red wine on ABCA1 levels

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the cardiovascular effects of pioglitazone, once daily (QD), versus glyburide when administered to patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and mild cardiac disease.

Babies having heart surgery often have problems after surgery with their blood pressure and getting enough blood to their bodies. To treat this they require medicines to keep their blood pressure high enough to get blood to their bodies. The side effects of these medicines include fast heart rates and increasing the amount of work the heart has to do. Corticosteroids are made by the body and help to use the energy in the food people eat, control the chemicals in their blood and maintain their blood pressure. Corticosteroids made by the body may be decreased in patients that have major surgery. Corticosteroids help to increase blood pressure and can decrease the amount of blood pressure medicines a patient requires. Corticosteroids have been shown to increase blood pressure in patients with bacterial infections and in very small, premature babies but have only been studied in a few babies who have had heart surgery. The way corticosteroids work is unknown but may involve decreasing the body's response to being on a heart-lung machine or give steroids not being made by the patient. Corticosteroids have been shown to be helpful in treating many diseases. The purpose of this study is to look at the effects of corticosteroids in babies who have had heart surgery and need blood pressure medicines in the intensive care unit after surgery. Our idea is that getting corticosteroids will allow us to decrease the amount of blood pressure medicines each patient needs and improve how they do after surgery. We also plan to do blood tests to help determine how the corticosteroids are working. It will be randomly determined if the subject receives corticosteroids or salt water. The subject will receive a corticosteroid or salt water once a day for five days. Their vital signs will be monitored, especially blood pressure and their need for medicines to increase their blood pressure. Blood work will also be obtained to determine their body's ability to make steroids.

The aim of this study is to determine whether biodegradable polymer based rapamycin-eluting stent performs equal to permanent polymer based everolimus- and rapamycin-eluting stents regarding reduction of adverse cardiac events at one year.

Patients with single ventricle anatomy undergo staged surgical palliation. The result is an "in series" circulation with pulmonary blood flow and cardiac output directly related to pulmonary vascular resistance. While surgical outcomes have improved, the physiology of the single ventricle palliation results in continued long term attrition. Elevated pulmonary vascular resistance and impaired systemic ventricular function are important risk factors for failure of single ventricle palliation. Sildenafil is a pulmonary vasodilator and has been shown to improve cardiac contractility in the pressure overloaded right ventricle. The investigators will assess the safety, pharmacokinetics and hemodynamic efficacy of sildenafil in single ventricle patients following stage II and III surgical palliation.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of the THERMOCOOL® SMARTTOUCH™ Catheters with Contact Force Sensing Capability in the treatment of drug refractory symptomatic paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation (AF) during standard electrophysiology mapping and RF procedures.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether long-term treatment with a beta-blocker (BB) such as atenolol and/or an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) such as telmisartan, given to adult patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) disease (aortopathy) reduces the widening (dilatation) of the aorta from its baseline size.

Diastolic heart failure (also known as "heart failure with normal ejection fraction" or "heart failure with preserved ejection fraction") occurs even though the heart muscle's pumping function is normal. In many cases diastolic heart failure is related to stiffening of the heart and blood vessels in people who have high blood pressure. Current guidelines suggest that patients should limit the salt content of their diet, as too much salty food can cause fluid retention and other problems in diastolic heart failure. Studies in animals with diastolic heart failure suggest that antioxidant chemicals found in grapes can block some of the harmful effects of salty diets. Because it is often difficult for patients with diastolic heart failure to maintain a low salt diet, the investigators are researching the effects of the antioxidant properties of grape seed extract, a natural supplement made from grape seeds. The investigators hypothesize that supplementing the diet with grape seed extract (GSE) can decrease the levels of harmful chemicals and improve heart and blood vessel function in patients with diastolic heart failure and a history of high blood pressure. The University of Michigan research group plans to enroll 25 patients with a history of high blood pressure and diastolic heart failure in a research study. The study will assess the effects of GSE on hormones and other chemicals that can cause heart and blood vessel damage. The investigators will also study the effects of GSE on the ability of the blood vessels and heart muscles to relax at the proper time and speed. Finally, the investigators will observe how GSE affects participants' overall ability to exercise, quality of life, and blood pressure control. Study participants will be randomly assigned to take either GSE or placebo (looks like but does not contain GSE) capsules twice a day for six weeks. After a two-week break, all subjects will cross over to the opposite group of capsules for an additional six-week period. At the start of the study and at the end of each six-week time period study participants will have non-invasive heart and blood vessel testing, blood work and urine tests, and blood pressure monitoring.

The purpose of this study is to compare the safety and efficacy of fenofibric acid (ABT-335) + atorvastatin combination therapy with ABT-335 and atorvastatin monotherapy in subjects with multiple abnormal lipid levels in the blood.

The purpose of this study is to compare the safety and efficacy of fenofibric acid (ABT-335) + rosuvastatin calcium combination therapy with ABT-335 and rosuvastatin calcium monotherapy in subjects with multiple abnormal lipid levels in the blood.