Active clinical trials for "Cardiomyopathies"

The purpose of this study is to investigate the safety and efficacy of intracoronary or intravenous infusion human umbilical Wharton's jelly-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell (WJMSC) in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy secondary to myocardial infarction.

The objective of this extension study is to evaluate the safety and potential beneficial effects of the Algisyl-LVR™ device in patients with established heart failure secondary to a dilated cardiomyopathy. The results of this study will provide confirmatory evidence of the long-term safety and effectiveness of the Algisyl-LVR in patients with established heart failure.

Exercise training (ET) is highly beneficial in heart failure patients and has been suggested to confer significant symptomatic and functional improvements in patients with diastolic dysfunction. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to examine the safety, feasibility of a structured ET program in symptomatic HCM patients.

Frequent monomorphic premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) may cause a cardiomyopathy (CMP) that is reversible by suppression of the ectopic focus. This study investigates whether PVC suppression therapy can improve cardiac function and clinical condition of patients with idiopathic or ischemic CMP and frequent monomorphic PVCs. For this purpose, patients will be randomized to either one of two treatment strategies: 1) conventional heart failure therapy plus PVC suppression therapy, consisting of RFCA as primary treatment and Amiodarone as secondary treatment in case of unsuccessful RFCA, or 2) conventional heart failure therapy without PVC suppression therapy.

Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is an inherited condition characterized by life threatening heart racing, presenting with palpitations, cardiac arrest (collapse requiring an ambulance) or sudden death. The disease affects the right ventricle, the part of the heart that pumps blood to the lungs. ARVC is diagnosed with a wide range of tests that focus on the pumping function and the electrical signals from the right ventricle. These factors are summarized in a score that forms the ARVC Task Force Criteria. Genetic testing has identified 5 different genes that lead to ARVC, which are detected in about 60% of patients with ARVC. This allows doctors to test family members of the patient with ARVC to determine if they are at risk of developing the condition. Currently, family members undergo testing that includes imaging and electrical tests such as a 24-hour monitor to determine if they have evidence of ARVC. With increasing frequency, family members are found to have the gene that may lead to ARVC, but little or no evidence that their hearts are affected. This may be because the family member is too young to develop the condition, or that other factors that we do not understand have protected them from developing it. The PREPARE study will study 100 patients that carry a gene that can lead to ARVC, but do not have anything more than minor evidence that the condition is present. These patients will not have heart racing on their initial 24-hour monitor. These patients will undergo long term monitoring with an implanted heart monitor that is inserted with a minor surgical procedure, which will detect abnormal heart rhythms that may provide a clue that heart racing from ARVC is present that is not detected with a 24-hour monitor that is performed on an annual basis (St. Jude Confirm implantable loop recorder). These patients will be enrolled in 10 adult and pediatric centers across Canada, and followed for 3 years after their heart monitor is implanted. If heart racing is detected, patients will discuss these results with their doctor to discuss what it means to them.

The aim of the present study is to investigate safety and efficacy of intramyocardial implantation of allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy .

Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) coexist in patients with heart failure (HF) and LV dysfunction. Frequent PVCs have shown to induce a reversible cardiomyopathy (PVC-CM). This clinical pilot study will enroll 36 patients with frequent PVCs (burden >10%) and CM (LVEF <45%) and randomize them to either: 1) RFA or 2) AADs. Prior to treatment, patients will undergo a baseline cardiac MR if clinically indicated followed by 3-month observation period (optimal HF medical therapy). Changes in LV function/scar, PVC burden/arrhythmias and clinical/functional status (QOL, HF symptoms and admissions, NYHA class) and adverse events will be assessed throughout the observation period and compare with PVC suppression strategies (RFA or AAD). Similar comparison will be made between RFA and AAD treatment groups during a 12-month follow up using a Prospective Randomized Open, Blinded End-point (PROBE) study design. The treatment regimens will be compared in an intention-to-treat analysis. In addition, a total of 20,000 consecutive ambulatory ECG Holter monitors from all participating centers will be screened to identify all patients with probable diagnosis of PVC-CM. This pilot study is intended to estimate the prevalence of this clinical entity and pave the way for a large full scale randomized trial to identify best treatment strategy for patients with PVC-CM. Treating and reversing this underestimated PVC-CM may improve patient's health and subsequently decrease HF healthcare spending.

30% of heart failure patients that receive a device for cardiac resynchronization therapy fail to show clinical improvement. The reason for lack of response is still unclear but factors such as scar tissue in the heart musculature, inadequate lead placement, device-settings and the degree of dyssynchrony before implant seems to be important. In this study, these factors are further investigated.

The aim of this study is to compare the effect of treatment with verapamil or carvedilol on long-term outcomes in stable, chronic heart failure secondary to non-ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Ischemic heart disease is one of the most important causes of mortality and morbidity in the Western world and is a public health problem. Among ischemic heart diseases, myocardial infarction has specific significance because the cardiac muscle does not have sufficient and adequate capacity to regenerate; therefore, necrosis of a region leads to the formation of a fibrous scar. Infarction can lead to a progressive and irreversible decrease in cardiac function, resulting in heart failure (HF) syndrome, depending on the area affected by this scar, via a ventricular remodeling mechanism. In recent years, HF has been revealed as a major public health problem due to its incidence and its social, economic and especially human impact, as it represents a serious limitation of the quality of life of individuals. The prevalence of HF in the general population of the United States and the United Kingdom is approximately 1%, and in those older than 75 years, the prevalence varies between 5 and 10%. Regarding its prognosis, recent data from the Framingham Study indicate that at 5 years, the mortality rate of HF is 75% in men and 62% in women; the mean mortality rate of all cancers is 50%. The molecular basis of congestive HF is the absence of cardiac cells capable of regenerating the heart muscle. Despite the publication of recent studies suggesting the existence of stem cells capable of regenerating cardiomyocytes destroyed because of myocardial infarction, in humans, the capacity of these cells is insufficient to replace the cells destroyed due to necrosis secondary to ischemia. In recent years, the accumulation of results derived from preclinical studies has allowed the development of the first clinical trials of the feasibility and safety of cardiac regeneration using cellular therapy. Several studies have shown that t cells exist in adult bone marrow, such as mesenchymal stem cells, hematopoietic stem cells and, more recently, multipotent stem cells (MAPC), with the ability to differentiate into endothelial tissue and cardiac muscle, which can contribute to the regeneration of damaged myocardial tissue and improve cardiac function in animal infarction models. However, cell therapy research has moved rapidly toward the use of more undifferentiated cells rather than hematopoietic lineages, such as mesenchymal cells. These cells can be obtained from different sources, with a tendency toward the use of characterized allogeneic cells, which are immediately available in the potential recipient. Given that this type of therapy has not been rigorously investigated in Latin America, we aim to determine the effect of therapy using Wharton's jelly-derived mesenchymal cells (WJ-MSCs) from the human umbilical cord on neomyogenesis in patients with previous myocardial infarction who are undergoing open revascularization. Our hospital has some experience with regenerative therapy, both in patients with acute myocardial infarction and chronic infarction, with encouraging results that support this new phase of inter-institutional research. Objective: To evaluate the safety and estimate the effect of coronary revascularization accompanied by intramyocardial injection of WJ-MSCs and the placement of an extracellular matrix patch seeded with WJ-MSCs compared to coronary revascularization accompanied by injection of culture medium without the presence of WJ-MSC and placement of an extracellular matrix patch without seeding with WJ-MSC on global and regional cardiac function, myocardial viability and the incidence of adverse effects determined as ventricular arrhythmias.