Active clinical trials for "Ischemia"

Pneumonia is a frequent complication of acute stroke and is associated with increased mortality and long-term impairment in the affected subjects. In previous studies, a number of clinical (e.g., dysphagia, severe neurological impairment, mechanical ventilation), radiological (e.g., large infarctions in the territory of middle cerebral artery, insular infarction) and biochemical (e.g., increased serum levels of C-reactive protein, decreased levels of CD4+ T-lymphocytes) findings have been reported as risk factors of stroke-related chest infection. The present study (PRECAST) aims to identify a small set out of these previously described risk factors that can predict stroke-related pneumonia with high sensitivity and specificity.

Treatment of acute stroke is still difficult and the only specific drug approved (rtPA) can only be administered if treatment starts within 3 hours after onset of symptoms. This results in a still too small number of patients treated with rtPA ( < 15% in best clinical care institutions ). Ancrod is a differently acting biological drug which has been used for a long time but not for acute stroke treatment. STAT was the first RCT of medium size to show a significant benefit/risk ration if treatment starts within 3 hours. ESTAT was designed closely related to STAT but with a longer 6 hours window and specifically extended inclusion/exclusion criteria to avoid secondary complications possibly related to a longer time window.

To assess genetic effects on the variation of cardiovascular and pulmonary risk factors in a cohort of 514 pairs of white male veteran twins.

To determine the association between ischemic heart disease incidence and anthropometric indices of body-fat distribution.

To determine whether postprandial lipoproteins were associated with atherosclerosis, and if so, whether the association was statistically independent of that between fasting lipoproteins and atherosclerosis.

The purpose of this study is to design and evaluate targeted implementation strategies to fully integrate the VHA clinical practice guidelines for ischemic heart disease into VHA clinical practice. Effectively implementing the guideline will enhance the quality, appropriateness, timeliness, and cost effectiveness of care delivered to veterans with ischemic heart disease.

Peripheral arterial cannulation is a necessity for installation of cardiopulmonary bypass in minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS). In the vast majority of cases, the femoral artery is the preferred arterial cannulation site. Distal limb hypoperfusion and ischemia can occur in the cannulated limb since antegrade perfusion is not routinely provided. Furthermore, the diameter of the cannula required to maintain adequate cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) flow is often approaching that of the patient's femoral artery diameter, compromising distal blood flow. The possibility of distal limb ischemia is often raised as a criticism to peripheral cannulation for cardiopulmonary bypass and by extent to minimally invasive cardiac surgery. Ischemia of the lower limb is of high incidence in patients undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy, in which the same femoral cannulation technique is used. Therefore this complication has extensively been described in ECMO literature. However, no clinical trials have been performed in patients undergoing MICS, despite the same cannulation and perfusion route. ECMO patients often differ from MICS patients in morbidity as well as in duration of cannulation. Up to now, one could not observe any clinical sequelae of limb ischemia in MICS patients but a formal study of distal leg perfusion in MICS is recommended to screen its safety and to identify possible risk factors.

Urinary kallidinogenase may assist recovery acute ischemic stroke. This study evaluated the impact of urinary kallidinogenase on NIHSS score, modified Rankin scale (mRS) score and fasting glucose levels in patients with AIS combined with diabetes mellitus and impaired fasting glucose.

Atherosclerotic disease is responsible for one third of all deaths annually and is a major cause of comorbidities. While atherosclerosis is by itself a benign disease, it often leads to complications such as acute myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation. Rescue angioplasty is indicated if thrombolytic therapy fails. However, the benefits in reducing mortality and the amount of myocardium effectively saved are not well established. The development of new tools, including cardiac magnetic resonance imaging to identify myocardial area at risk and infarcted increased diagnostic accuracy. However, unlike the context of primary angioplasty, little is known about the relation between coronary epicardial and microvascular flow after rescue angioplasty and myocardial salvage. The objective of this study is to evaluate whether there is a relation between these flows and myocardial salvage identified by Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). At the end of this research, the investigators hope to contribute to a better understanding of coronary flow and its relation to the amount of heart muscle saved after rescue angioplasty. This is an important information that can help understand which cases benefit most from rescue angioplasty.

Atrial fibrillation is a common cardiac arrhythmia and a major risk for ischemic stroke. Furthermore the risk of stroke is higher in the first month after transient ischemic attack (TIA)/stroke. Rivaroxaban has been approved by Health Canada over period of last two years for prevention of stroke and have been found equally effective as oral Vitamin K antagonist. The foremost benefits of NOAC are reduced intracranial bleeding risk and does not require coagulation monitoring. Optimal timing of anticoagulation after TIA/stroke in patients with known non-valvular atrial fibrillation is not known. The practice is variable and opinion based. The bias for many stroke physicians and neurologists is to start later (after 1-2weeks) to prevent hemorrhagic transformation thus possibly exposing the patients to an increased risk of recurrence. The product monograph for the drug suggest to wait for variable of 3 to 14 days before starting the NOAC (Waiting period:14 days for dabigatran and rivaroxaban, 7 days for Apixaban after ischemic stroke and three days after TIA for rivaroxaban). The times have been chosen arbitrary. The investigators aim to study incidence of symptomatic hemorrhage in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation who are initiated with new oral anticoagulants early after TIA and stroke.