Active clinical trials for "Myocardial Ischemia"

Coronary artery disease is the single most important killer of Canadians. Despite major advances in therapy, there is still a significant proportion of patients identified with the disease who die of it because current treatment approaches cannot effectively palliate their condition. A new treatment modality called therapeutic angiogenesis has appeared on the clinical research scene during the last five years; this approach recreates the natural processes of new blood vessel formation that is observed during growth and development in every human being. It is an extremely potent and promising modality, but so far the results of clinical trials in patients have been equivocal. One reason for the limited efficacy observed thus far with therapeutic angiogenesis may rest in that factors produced by the lining of the coronary arteries themselves are essential for angiogenic substances to take effect in the heart muscle of patients with severe coronary artery disease. These same patients, however, virtually all have, as a result of their disease, marked dysfunction of their coronaries and therefore fail to produce these factors in adequate quantities. This hypothesis has been verified with extensive animal data by the investigators of this research, where a swine model of coronary disease was shown to severely inhibit the action of angiogenic growth factors. If one wants angiogenesis to work, a means of improving the function of the coronary lining of patients with severe ischemic heart disease must be identified and its effects evaluated in order to allow for angiogenic substances to exert their action towards successful revascularization of the heart muscle. An amino acid called L-arginine has repeatedly been shown to markedly improve function of the coronary artery lining in patients with ischemic heart disease when administered regularly over a period of several months. This research will therefore test, in the form of a randomized clinical trial, whether this concomitant approach can make angiogenesis effective in patients with advanced coronary disease, by allowing for the action of growth factors to take place in the heart. If this approach is successful, as is anticipated, angiogenesis will constitute an effective modality for the treatment of coronary artery disease, not only in patients with advanced, severe involvement unamenable to any other form of cardiac therapy such as coronary artery bypass grafting, but even perhaps in all patients with coronary artery disease in need of revascularization. The goal of this investigation towards the making of a new, revolutionary, safe and efficacious modality for the treatment of the number one killer disease of Canadians is in complete agreement with the primary objective of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

The purpose of this study was to see if the heart-lung machine involved in cardiac surgery increases the movement of activated white blood cells from the bloodstream into the patient's tissues and also to see if aprotinin usage during surgery reduces this effect.

The purpose of this study is to test whether SR123781A is a possible treatment for patients with acute coronary syndromes (heart attack) who are scheduled to undergo a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) within 48 hours after inclusion in the study. Two doses of SR123781A are currently tested, each in a group of about 180 patients per group to find which is the most adequate, versus heparin and glycoprotein IIbIIIa (GPIIBIIIA) antagonist.

Background: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) can be performed either with or without the use of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) to obtain myocardial re-vascularisation. The investigators hypothesize that CABG without the use of CPB may reduce the risk of perioperative death, stroke, myocardial infarction and other serious complications. The aim of the present study is to compare the incidence of complications and the clinical efficacy of CABG with and without the use of CPB in elderly patients.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the ZoMaxx drug-eluting stent in patients with blockage of native coronary arteries. The study is designed to demonstrate non-inferiority to the TAXUS Express2 Paclitaxel-Eluting Stent that has proven superior to bare metal stents and is a recognized standard of care.

The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of atorvastatin 80 mg daily as compared to atorvastatin 10 mg daily in reducing C-reactive protein levels over a 26-week treatment period in subjects with documented coronary artery disease.

To evaluate the effects of carefully controlled diets on lipoproteins and clotting factors in different demographic groups.

To test the hypothesis that implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy will improve survival in coronary heart disease patients at high risk of death, especially arrhythmic death.

To determine by sequential coronary arteriography whether a lipid-lowering diet with and without lipid-lowering drugs could reverse coronary artery disease in normocholesterolemic patients. Also, to test whether fish oil supplements could improve human coronary atherosclerosis. Finally, to determine the effect of combination therapy with lipid-reducing drugs in patients with coronary heart disease and "normal" cholesterol levels. At least three clinical trials were conducted.

To assess the relative long-term safety and efficacy of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in patients with multivessel disease and severe angina or ischemia who required revascularization and had coronary anatomy suitable for either procedure.