Active clinical trials for "Heart Failure"

The purpose of this study is to Evaluate the Safety of DILATREND SR Cap. in Korean Patients with Essential hypertension, Chronic stable angina and Congestive heart failure for 52 weeks.

The aim of this study is to determine whether a nurse-managed telephone-based disease-management intervention can reduce healthcare utilization and improve self-assessed health status in patients with congestive heart failure.

The objective of this study is to determine whether the presence of metabolic alteration and anabolic deficiencies in patients with chronic heart failure are able to identify a subset of patients with poor outcome.

Levosimendan is a drug used in patients with heart failure and has several advantages over other heart failure drugs. A lot of research has been done with Levosimendan in Adults, and the way the body handles the drug (pharmacokinetics) and responds to the drug (pharmacodynamics) are well established. But, in children this information is lacking despite the fact that Levosimendan is increasingly used in children of all ages. The investigators aim to describe which Levosimendan dose leads to which drug levels in children of different ages.

Patients with heart failure have a high incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF)and re-admission for heart failure. New methods have been developed to continuously monitor arrhythmia's and heart failure parameters. One such method is implantation of an implantable loop recorder. Also home-monitoring is available for continuous monitoring and information sending to the treating physicians, with improving detection of atrial fibrillation (AF) and/or other sever arrhythmia's we hope to improve patient care. Objective of the study: To investigate the clinical efficacy in detecting clinically relevant arrhythmia's (especially AF) of the Reveal XT in patients with mild to moderate heart failure and elevated risk factor for stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA)(CHADS-score >2), currently not treated with oral anticoagulation (OAC). Study design: In 50 stable sinus rhythm (no known AF)patients with New York health Association (NYHA class) 2-3, a CHADS2-score>2 and no indication for a implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) or pacemaker (PM) or OAC. Patients are put on home-monitoring (CareLink) and regular outward clinic visits. The number of relevant arrhythmia's detected will count for the primary endpoint. Also the number of medication changes and institution of OAC. Study population: 50 stable patients, recruited from the outward clinic. NYHA class 2-3. Reveal XT implantation. CHADS2-score 2 or more. No indication for ICD/PM or OAC. No AF known. Primary study parameters/outcome of the study: Primary endpoints AF burden and AF episodes detected Detected other relevant arrhythmia's like SVT's (not AF) or ventricular tachycardias (VT's) or bradycardias % patients on OAC after 1 year follow-up Number of clinically relevant patient activated events Number of treatment policy changes based on the Reveal XT Secondary study parameters/outcome of the study specificity of AF detection algorithm by the Reveal Predictive value of the cardiac Compass data to predict worsening heart failure episodes.

The main question to be asked in this study is what is the potential for human hearts that have been deemed unacceptable for transplant, to be explanted and re-animated in a controlled, external environment to be assessed? Furthermore would the reanimated hearts be able to undergo improvement in their function in this external environment. Ultimately this may lead to an increase the number of hearts available for transplantation.

ACE inhibitors have been studied extensively in the treatment of heart failure and have been shown to be beneficial in all its stages. Studies with the use of angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) in chronic heart failure have not shown equivalent results. Many patients are on an ARB for a variety of reasons. Some of these may have had cough as a symptom of heart failure and not due to medication side effect. According to guidelines, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) are still first-line therapy in the treatment of heart failure. As ACEi have been extensively studied showing improvement in morbidity and mortality all patients should be on this treatment unless absolutely contraindicated.

The investigators hypothesize that leg edema will decrease rapidly when using the NormaTec pump, patients will lose weight, will feel better, will be less prone to infections in their legs and to congestion of the liver. Temporary elevation of intravascular fluid volume by the mobilized edema fluid returned to the intravascular space by pumping may increase cardiac output and renal perfusion and in addition it may distend the right atrium and ventricle thus inducing BNP secretion. Both mechanisms may promote excess fluid removal by the kidneys.

The purpose of this research is to determine if two proteins in the blood are increased during acute heart failure. These two proteins are produced when the heart becomes dysfunctional and unable to contract normally. They may then be released into the blood and be detected by standard method in the research laboratory. Thus, the purpose of this study is to determine the relation between the change of these two proteins in the blood and the occurrence of acute heart failure. At this time, detection of an increase in these proteins in the blood is not known to be associated with any disease or heart failure.

While cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has a well demonstrated therapeutic effect in selected patients with advanced heart failure (HF) on optimized drug therapy, non-responder rate remains high. The low-dose dobutamine stress-echo (DSE) test to predict positive response to CRT (LODO-CRT) trial is designed to improve patient selection for CRT.