Active clinical trials for "Cardiomyopathies"

This study will evaluate the relationship of markers of cardiac activation and their determinants. The hypothesis is that these markers will be interrelated.

We would like to investigate novel diagnostic methods or biomarkers to early predict the success of ECMO therapy for cardiogenic shock patients during the early stage after ECMO treatment.

No clinical trial that has examined the role of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy in the prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) has provided outcome data for longer than a few years. The NHLBI sponsored and placebo-controlled Sudden Cardiac Death in heart Failure Trial (SCD-HeFT) conducted from 1997 to 2003 had the largest number of patients and the longest average follow-up at 45.5 months. This study changed the national reimbursement policy for ICD therapy and remains the reference point for all other ICD evaluations in patients with congestive heart failure from ischemic or non-ischemic systolic dysfunction. Despite the outcome, the role of ICD therapy in the management of patients with heart failure has been questioned because of four principal concerns: numbers needed to treat to save a life, lead integrity over time, the negative consequences of shock therapy, and the cost of therapy. The purpose of this trial is to track down the remaining patients for a one-time follow-up regarding key outcome data.

This is a multicenter, multinational, prospective and retrospective, observational study of patients with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC). Data on natural profile (demographical characteristics, clinical phenotype, laboratory values, electrocardiography parameters, echocardiography parameters, coronary angiography parameters, medication) and outcome are systematically collected. Our aim is to gain a better insight into the clinical profile and pathophysiology of TTC.

Prospective, multicenter, observational registry collecting data from subjects with Tako-Tsubo (stress-induced) cardiomyopathy (TTC). Uniform, complete, and accurate data will be collected on the subject's medical history, during index hospitalization for TTC, and during follow-up. The objectives are to evaluate the prevalence and incidence of cancer in patients with TTC, to document the underlying causes of death during hospital stay and during follow-up, to determine the long-term prognosis, and to identify possible predictors of short and long-term mortality.

Eligible subjects will wear 4 consecutive external monitoring devices for a total of 28 days of monitoring.

Psychological processes play a complex role in the pathophysiology of many diseases. However, the body and emotional perception of patients and the relationship between dreams and disease still need to be investigated. The investigators planned an observational and controlled research aimed at assessing some previously unaddressed baseline psychological characteristics and their changes at 1 and 5 years after a short-term psychotherapy in carefully characterised patients with heart or oncologic diseases . The patients that will be enrolled are: 50 patients ≤ 75 year old with acute myocardial infarction; 30 patients ≤ 75 year old with Tako-Tsubo syndrome; 50 women ≤ 75 year old, recently operated on breast cancer: 90 control subjects of the same age and gender of the enrolled patients, without relevant pathologies during the last 10 years. Relevant pathologies are defined as those that required a hospitalisation or a long-lasting medical therapy. At the enrolment all the subjects will undergo a complete medical evaluation, and the following psychometric tests: Self-evaluation test, Social Support Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI II), MacNew Heart Disease Health-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI 2). In two distinct following meetings, an open questionnaire exploring the body and emotional perception, and another exploring past and recent dreams, will be administered. The same evaluation will be done for the healthy subjects. After the initial evaluation, all the patients will be given the choice to start a short-term psychotherapy lasting 6 months on top of medical therapy or to continue classic medical therapy only. Healthy subjects will be not offered the possibility to follow psychotherapy. At first year of follow-up, the battery of psychometric test, and the two questionnaires exploring the body and emotional perception, and changes and characteristics of dreams during the psychotherapy, will be re-administered. The following data will be evaluated: Psychological characteristics at follow-up. Incidence of new relevant medical events Quality of life Relationship between psychological characteristics and health status, and quality of life At 5 year follow-up psychometric tests and the clinical data will be evaluated in all the groups.

Myocarditis promotes the occurrence of serious cardiac arrhythmias and conduction disorders which may lead to sudden cardiac death, the need for catheter ablation of arrhythmia or implantation of a cardioverter-defibrillator or pacemaker. The aim of the study is to fill the evidence gap regarding the type and burden of arrhythmias in patients with myocarditis and their correlation with clinical parameters, biomarkers and additional tests. During a multi-center observational study, patients will be subjected to prolonged ECG monitoring. As a result, a risk scale will be created that can facilitate the identification of patients with an increased risk of arrhythmia and further specifying recommendations for therapeutic management.

This translational study will assess the association between septic cardiomyopathy (measured via left ventricular global longitudinal strain) and (a) inflammatory cytokine profiles, and (b) the behavior of cardiomyocytes derived from inducible pluripotent stem cells.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a rare condition in which the heart muscle cells especially of the main pumping chamber (the 'ventricle') is replaced by fat and scar tissue. Sarcoidosis is a condition that can affect many organs but when it affects the heart patches of inflammation can result in scarring, especially of the ventricles. Both conditions can cause dangerous heart rhythms and sudden death. Sarcoidosis can be treated with inflammation suppressing treatment (steroids), as well as pacemakers and implantable defibrillators which shock the heart back to normal rhythm. ARVC is usually treated with implantable defibrillators. The diagnosis of either condition can be difficult and indeed distinguishing the two can be extremely challenging. Increasingly nuclear scans (PET) are used to identify inflammation in the heart in patients suspected of having cardiac sarcoid. It is not known whether patients with ARVC have abnormal PET scans.