Active clinical trials for "Heart Failure"

The purpose of the current study is to assess the safety and tolerability of intravenous tonapofylline.

To determine if the beneficial effect of spironolactone in patients with congestive heart failure is in part due to its intrinsic inotropic action. Randomized, two group placebo controlled, single blind study.

The primary objective of the study is to assess the safety and tolerability of IV administration of CD-NP and the dose relationship of CD-NP on improvement of clinical symptoms and renal function in ADHF patients.

This is an open-label, non-randomized, pilot-study to evaluate the effect of Interleukin-1 blockade on exercise capacity in patients with heart failure. Subjects will undergo cardiopulmonary exercise testing at baseline and after 2-weeks treatment with anakinra (recombinant human Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist).

The purpose of this study is to investigate the safety, tolerability, pharmacodynamics (how the study medication affects the body) and pharmacokinetics (how the drug is absorbed in the body, how it is distributed within the body and removed from the body over time) of an intravenous administration of JNJ-39588146 or placebo over a 3-hour period in patients with heart failure. The highest tolerated dose received during the first 3 hours of the study will be administered to some patients for an additional 18 hours. There will be up to 3 doses given throughout the administration period over a total of up to 21 hours.

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 heart beat sometimes an implantable heart device is used to control the rate and rhythm of the heart beat. In certain heart failure cases, when the two lower chambers of the heart no longer beat in a coordinated manner, cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) may be prescribed. CRT is similar to a pacemaker. It is placed (implanted) under the skin of the upper chest. CRT is delivered as tiny electrical pulses to the right and left ventricles through three leads (flexible insulated wires) that are inserted through the veins to the heart. The purpose of this study is to evaluate a new lead for delivering energy to the left ventricle (bottom left chamber of the heart).

In this study, TRV120027 (or a placebo) intravenous infusion will be given to people with heart failure to learn about the effects of TRV120027. The results of this study will help choose the proper range of TRV120027 doses to use in future research studies involving patients with acute decompensated heart failure.

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.

Exercise oscillatory breathing (EOB) is a ventilatory abnormality that occurs in approximately 20% of heart failure (HF) patients and carries a very unfavourable prognosis. Pathophysiology seems quite complex and putative mechanisms include increased pulmonary capillary pressure and pulmonary vasoconstriction, circulatory blood-flow fluctuations in the pulmonary arterial system and instability of ventilatory control. Inhibition of the phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) isoenzyme favourably regulates pulmonary vascular tone and permeability through over signaling of the endothelial nitric oxide pathway. The investigators tested the hypothesis that sildenafil would reverse the EOB pattern in patients with HF and pulmonary hypertension.

A growing number of people in this country are overweight or obese. This is concerning as increasing weight has been shown to increase the risk of developing heart failure. However, there is also research to suggest that in people who already have heart failure, heavier people live longer. So, how does being overweight put a person at risk for heart failure, but once they have heart failure, protect them? There is no clear explanation for this dilemma. People who are obese commonly have other diseases, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, that increase the risk of developing heart disease. It is this group of diseases that is referred to as "The Metabolic Syndrome." People with the metabolic syndrome also have increased levels of inflammation and clotting proteins in their blood stream. Current treatment of the metabolic syndrome involves using medications for cholesterol, blood pressure, and diabetes. Diet and exercise are also commonly recommended. "Lifestyle intervention programs" are programs that help people lose weight by changing their eating habits and exercise / activity routines. Weight loss and exercise have been shown to lower the risk of developing diabetes and improve diabetes control, improve cholesterol abnormalities, and lower blood pressure. These programs have not previously included heart failure patients, however. We hypothesize that using a lifestyle intervention program in addition to the usual medications for heart failure will result in improved symptoms of heart failure and control of the metabolic syndrome. This study will be the first research study to look at the use of diet and exercise in treating heart failure patients who are overweight / obese with "the metabolic syndrome." The study will last 6 months. From this study we hope to learn whether diet and exercise is helpful in treating heart failure patients who are overweight. Specifically, the study will look at the short term effects on cardiac risk factors (blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar), heart failure symptoms, and exercise capacity.