Active clinical trials for "Coronary Artery Disease"

The purpose of this study is to compare the prevalence and severity of CAD (coronary artery disease) in patients with and without severe psoriasis, otherwise matched for cardiovascular risk factors.

Dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) and cardiac magnetic resonance (DCMR) are both established non-invasive techniques, used in the clinical routine for the diagnostic classification and risk stratification of patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease (CAD). In this regard, regional wall motion abnormalities (WMA) during dobutamine stress, precede the development of ST-segment depression and anginal symptoms, enabling the detection of anatomically significant CAD and the assessment of clinical outcomes. In a head-to-head comparison between the 2 techniques, favourable diagnostic characteristics in terms of higher sensitivity and accuracy were noted for DCMR compared to DSE. Although it has been reported that stress induced WMA both in DCMR and in DSE are independent predictors for hard cardiac events such as cardiac death or myocardial infarction, the value of the 2 techniques for the risk stratification of patients with CAD has not been compared to each other so far. Comparison of these 2 non-invasive techniques is important, because referring physicians need to know which modality is more reliable for the identification of patients at higher risk for subsequent cardiac events, who would benefit from early invasive therapy. In the investigators study the investigators therefore sought to compare the ability of DSE versus DCMR to predict subsequent hard cardiac events and revascularization procedures in a patient cohort with high CAD prevalence. Their predictive value was compared to that of conventional atherogenic risk factors and to resting WMA. In addition, the investigators sought to determine if both techniques are equally suitable for structuring invasive or conservative treatment according to the presence or absence of inducible ischemia, respectively.

This is a prospective, multi-center study examining the clinical impact of the Corus CAD (Age/Sex/Gene Expression score - ASGES) assay in approximately 250 evaluable subjects with no history of obstructive coronary artery disease who now present with chest pain or anginal-equivalent symptoms to a primary care physician (PCP) for evaluation.

Esophageal electrocardiography (eECG) has important advantages compared to standard ECG recordings. Coronary artery disease leading to myocardial ischemia is very common and has potentially severe consequences for patients. To date, the investigators don't know the influence of ischemia on the eECG. The goal of the present study is to assess ischemic changes of the eECG induced by balloon occlusion of coronary arteries in patients undergoing coronary angiography.

We will obtain data using multi-slice CT technology to detect subclinical coronary disease in the HIV population. Determination of subclinical cardiovascular disease using noninvasive technology and elucidation of the associated risk factors will help to guide targeted therapy to prevent cardiovascular events in this patient population. We will investigate the prevalence of coronary plaque lesions and coronary artery calcifications in men and women with HIV disease as determined by 64-row multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and MDCT coronary angiography in comparison to age-matched control subjects without HIV infection. We hypothesize that evidence of coronary artery calcification and coronary plaque lesions as seen by MDCT will be present in individuals with HIV more than non-HIV control subjects of the same age. We also hypothesize the degree of atherosclerosis will be increased in HIV patients compared to control subjects. We will evaluate the metabolic and inflammatory factors associated with coronary artery disease in HIV-infected individuals. We hypothesize that traditional cardiac risk factors as well as metabolic and inflammatory changes associated with HIV and its treatment such as dyslipidemia, increased secretion of inflammatory markers, decreased adiponectin, increased insulin resistance and increased visceral fat may be associated with coronary artery disease in HIV-infected individuals.

There is substantial, continuing, and unexplained rise in prescribing of proton pump inhibitors. It is unknown whether their use in practice has corresponded to their licensed indications. Although the indications for H2RA or PPI administration in the treatment of acid-related diseases and the prevention of gastric mucosal damage have been well defined in the medical literature, the perception of benefit from their use frequently tends to be extrapolated to all patients in general, leading to an excessive consumption of these drugs in general practice. To date, however, little has been published with regard to the overall use or misuse of these drugs in hospital populations in ischemic heart disease patients as a secondary prevention to Aspirin use. We will undertake a 6-months retrospective survey (about 1200 patients) to evaluate the use of acid-suppressive medications in the general internal medicine ward of Rambam Hospital. We will extract all records of prescribing of a proton pump inhibitor within Rambam Hospital computerized patients file program (Premetheuos) in period of half year, categorized and analyze them using statistical X2 test.

To investigate the role of racial and socioeconomic disparities in coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality in the United States.

To examine whether the prevalence of subclinical coronary and aortic atherosclerotic disease is different among Japanese in Japan, Japanese in Hawaii, and black and white Americans.

To document cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular disease risk factors among 1,200 Native Alaskans who are members of approximately 40 families.

To develop and test a self-scored cardiovascular disease health risk appraisal.