Active clinical trials for "Heart Failure"

It is well-known that 20-25% of patients hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction will develop acute heart failure during their hospitalization. Currently, the investigators have no reliable parameter for prediction of evolving acute heart failure in such a group of patients. As a result, the investigators have no way of preventing acute heart failure. Treatment of these patients only begins after appearance of clinical signs of acute heart failure. Lung impedance monitoring may be a good non-invasive parameter for prediction of evolving acute heart failure. This study will attempt to address whether preemptive lung impedance-guided therapy may prevent the development of overt acute heart failure and improve their clinical outcome.

Introduction: Dyspnea and fatigue determine exercise intolerance in heart failure (HF) subjects, hampering performance in activities of daily living. In this context, noninvasive ventilation (NIV) has been used to minimize such impairment, increasing functional capacity Aim: To evaluate the impact of NIV on exercise performance in HF individuals. Methods: A randomized crossover clinical trial with allocation concealment consisted of two experimental phases: NIV and control, 7 days apart of each other. During NIV phase, 30 minutes of bi-level ventilation was performed. Any type of ventilator support was offered during control phase. Functional capacity was assessed by cardiopulmonary exercise test on a treadmill.

The primary objective of this study is to demonstrate that in patients with recuperated/normalized left ventricular function, defined as an ejection fraction (EF) ≥ 50%, after implantation of cardiac resynchronization therapy, device treatment is sufficient and neurohumoral blocker therapy can safely be withdrawn

A number of 100 patients with pulmonary hypertension associated with the left Heart failure scheduled for elective pulmonary arterial denervation (PADN) are randomized 1:1 to either PADN or control group.

The investigators wish to investigate wether a more strict diabetic control improves cardiac function, muscle strength, exercise capacity and decreases symptoms. The investigators hypothesis is that improving the glycemic control in suboptimized diabetics with heart failure will improve cardiac performance, muscle strength, exercise capacity and decrease symptoms.

Study Purpose The purpose of the BeneMACS Long-Term LVAD Study is to demonstrate that survival in non transplant patients implanted with the HeartMate II LVAD as destination therapy in Belgium and the Netherlands are equivalent to or better than published results in the scientific literature with approved devices. Implants will be performed following the HeartMate II guidelines. Characterization of Patient Population The HeartMate II will be implanted as destination therapy in patients who are not candidates for cardiac transplantation. Study Design The study is a prospective, non-randomized, non-blinded multi-center study with historical control. The study will consist of the assignment of eligible patients to treatment with the LVAD. The first 10 patients to have the device implanted will be enrolled in the study. Study End point Patients enrolled in the study will be followed until end points defined as death, 2-year support on the HeartMate II, device removal, transplantation, or recovery. Data Collection and Follow-up All data will be entered into INTERMACS® through their web-based data entry system. All data for the BeneMACs study will be held separately from the main INTERMACS database, and used only for the purpose of the BeneMACs study. Investigator sites Cliniques Universitaires St. Luc, Avenue Hippocrates 10, 1200 Brussels, Belgium Leuven Gasthuisberg University Hospital, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium

The randomized patients with acute heart failure will be stratified based on the presence or absence of a Swan-Ganz catheter and assigned to receive either tezosentan 5 mg/h for the first 30 minutes and 1 mg/h thereafter or matching placebo in a 1:1 manner. The duration of the treatment is 24 hours up to 72 hours. The duration of the follow-up period is 30 days after treatment initiation for death, re-hospitalizations and SAEs followed by a follow-up period of 5 months for vital status.

The investigators hypothesise that CPAP + pharmaceutical treatment, compared to pharmaceutical treatment alone, improves the respiratory and hemodynamic status of the patients before H2 after the inclusion time and decreases the rate of death and tracheal intubation during the first 48 hours.

Patients with decompensated heart failure have high rates of mortality and morbidity despite recent improvements in diagnosis and treatment. Some aspects of their presentation such as renal failure, hyponatremia and congestive phenomena have received special attention, as they are associated with worse prognosis. The infusion of hypertonic saline solution has been tested in different conditions of cardiovascular collapse. Current evidence indicates that the infusion of hypertonic solution in heart failure patients can provide clinical and haemodynamic improvement. The investigators are testing the hypothesis that the infusion of hypertonic solution in association with diuretics may prevent the occurrence of renal dysfunction in patients with decompensated heart failure.

This study examines whether a permanent stimulation of the diaphragm improves left ventricular function in patients with severe heart failure following heart surgery.