Active clinical trials for "Heart Failure"

It is a single centre, randomised controlled study of the effect of NOGA-guided direct intramyocardial injection of mesenchymal stromal cells on the development of new myocardium and blood vessels in patients with heart failure. Stem cells will be obtained from the bone marrow and culture expanded for 6 - 8 weeks before injected into the myocardium. The patients will be followed with safety, clinical, MRI and CT endpoints for 1 year.

Diastolic heart failure (DHF), which affects older individuals and women at a disproportionate rate, is a condition that can lead to shortness of breath and fluid build-up in the lungs. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of the medication sildenafil at improving exercise ability and health outcomes in people with DHF.

Heart failure affects over 5.3 million Americans and, while other cardiovascular diseases have enjoyed a reduction in mortality rates over the last decade, the mortality from heart failure continues to rise[1]. Thus, identifying novel therapies that can reduce heart failure development and/or progression are warranted. Unifying to most cardiomyopathic processes is an impaired handling of reactive oxygen species (ROS)[2-4]. Reactive oxygen species are generated as byproducts of inflammation and oxidative stress that occur in the setting of normal myocardial aerobic metabolism. Metallothionein, glutathione reductase, and superoxide dismutase are major antioxidants in the myocardium that help combat oxidative stress and prevent myocardial damage. In certain clinical settings, including cardiac ischemia, diabetes, and heavy metal excess (copper, iron), myocardial oxidative stress levels are greatly increased. When pro-oxidant levels exceed myocardial antioxidant capabilities, ROS-induced membrane, protein, and DNA inactivation can lead to the development of cardiac dysfunction. One means of preventing the development or progression of cardiomyopathy is to reduce oxidative stress through up-regulation of intramyocardial antioxidants. Murine studies of cardiomyopathy have shown that oral administration of zinc acetate may succeed as an indirect myocardial anti-oxidant because zinc sufficiently up-regulates the intramyocardial production of superoxide dismutase (a zinc-dependant anti-oxidant enzyme) and metallothionein (a "super antioxidant") [5-8]. Zinc also directly reduces prooxidant Cu levels by reducing gastrointestinal zinc absorption. However, to date, no studies have examined the impact of zinc acetate supplementation in subjects with cardiomyopathy and systolic failure on antioxidant capacity and remodeling. The hypothesis of this pilot study is that administration of oral zinc acetate to humans with cardiomyopathy will lead to an up-regulation of myocardial anti-oxidant capabilities,leading to a favorable reduction in oxidative stress. This study will provide preliminary data to support a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of zinc therapy in heart failure as a means of improving or preventing the progression of systolic dysfunction in subjects with mild-moderate heart failure.

The purpose of this study is to assess the safety and tolerability of two doses of nesiritide (a recombinant form of the natural human peptide normally secreted by the heart in response to heart failure) when administered serially as a treatment to outpatients with worsening congestive heart failure (decompensated CHF) who are receiving their usual cardiac medications and are at high risk for hospitalization.

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a common health problem that leads to frequent hospitalizations and an increased death rate. In spite of advances in drug therapy, it remains a significant public health problem. Recently, a new therapy has been developed for advanced heart failure patients with a ventricular conduction abnormality. This new therapy, called cardiac resynchronization (CRT), is a device which stimulates the atrium, the right ventricle, and the left ventricle providing synchronization of the contraction of the heart chambers. It is the addition of this therapy to an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) that will be evaluated in this study. This study will compare whether the implantation of this new therapy device, in combination with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, will reduce total mortality and hospitalizations for CHF.

The purpose of this study is to determine the minimum effective dose of Istaroxime, in patients requiring hospitalization for deterioration of chronic heart failure and left ventricular systolic dysfunction. This goal will be reached by comparing the hemodynamic effect of three different doses of the drug versus placebo. Efficacy will be measured as a change in Pulmonary Capillary Wedge Pressure from pre-infusion to the last assessment at six hours intravenous infusion.Secondary objectives will be to evaluate safety, tolerability and efficacy on other main hemodynamic parameters, echocardiographic and echo-doppler measurements, plus preliminary pharmacokinetics of the drug.

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of 7-day repeated oral administration of OPC-41061 15 mg or placebo in congestive heart failure (CHF) patients with extracellular volume expansion despite the use of a conventional diuretic.

This study is designed to evaluate the efficacy of Ferinject® in improving symptoms of CHF in patients with iron deficiency. Analyses will focus both on subjective and objective measures. Furthermore, the tolerability and safety of Ferinject® treatment will be evaluated.

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a medical condition that is due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD). LVSD is a decreased ability of the heart to pump blood forward. There are 5 million people in the United States that have CHF and 52,828 new cases are diagnosed annually. There are 995,000 hospital visits and 52,828 deaths annually due to CHF. Previous studies have shown that people with this condition are at a higher risk for complications immediately after any type of heart surgery than are normal individuals. This includes increased dependence on medications and devices to improve the pumping function of the heart and blood pressure. Additionally, they also have longer lengths of hospital stay and higher rates of death compared to normal individuals. Some patients with LVSD not only have a decreased pumping ability of the heart, they also have an inefficient pumping function. These patients have been shown to benefit from a device therapy known as biventricular pacing. Biventricular pacing involves simultaneously electrically stimulating the two major pumping chambers of the heart known as ventricles using a pacemaker and wires. This causes a more coordinated contraction of the heart chambers resulting in improvement in the pumping ability of the heart and blood pressure. Studies have confirmed that in these patients, implantation of a biventricular pacemaker improves patients' symptoms and quality of life as well as decreasing a need for future hospitalizations. Whether biventricular pacing in patients with LVSD improves patient outcomes after heart surgery has not been investigated. Some patients temporarily develop slow heart rates after cardiovascular surgery. These slow heart rates can cause a decrease in the blood pumped from the heart and result in low blood pressures. Therefore, all patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery, regardless of left ventricular function, receive temporary pacing wires that are placed on one of the ventricles during the surgery. Temporary pacing will result in an increase in heart rate and improvement in the amount of blood pumped by the heart and in blood pressure. The placement of these wires is precautionary as only a few patients need to be paced for slow heart rates. Once patients are felt to no longer require them, the wires are easily removed. The purpose of this study is to determine whether biventricular pacing immediately after heart surgery in patients with LVSD will improve in-hospital outcomes. Patients that are scheduled for heart surgery and meet the inclusion criteria will be approached for consent to participate in this study. Once consented, they will be randomized to one of three treatment arms: usual care, RV pacing (single ventricle pacing), or biventricular pacing. Randomization is a process similar to picking numbers out of a hat. The patients will then undergo surgery as scheduled. During the surgery, the patients will receive the temporary pacing wires on both ventricles instead of one. Immediately after surgery, the patients will receive either usual care, RV pacing, or biventricular pacing depending upon the treatment arm that they were randomized to. The pacing wires will be removed as soon as the patients become stable as per routine. The clinical, operative, and in-hospital characteristics of these patients will be recorded on specialized forms. The characteristics of those that received biventricular pacing will be compared to those that had RV or no pacing to see whether there was any benefit to this mode of therapy.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of fish oil supplements in maintaining weight in people with disease-related weight loss and/or cachexia.