Active clinical trials for "Death, Sudden"

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a sudden, unexpected loss of heart function. It is a leading cause of death, and more than 400,000 people in the United States die each year as a result of SCA. This study will analyze genetic samples of people who have experienced SCA and people who have not experienced SCA to determine if there is a genetic basis for SCA.

Survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is time critical and diminishes rapidly without appropriate intervention. Bystander CPR at least doubles the chances of survival and the additional use of a public access defibrillator (PAD) can again double overall survival rates. PADs are designed to be easy and simple to use, but whether untrained bystanders can use them safely and effectively is unknown. This study will aim to assess the ability of untrained bystanders to deploy a PAD in a simulated cardiac arrest.

This study will involve the use of therapeutic hypothermia. This prospective cohort pilot study will evaluate the clinical performance of a new device, the ThermoSuit™ System, to achieve therapeutic hypothermia in comatose patients following resuscitation from cardiac arrest, and the impact of the vasodilator, magnesium sulfate, on cooling performance and hemodynamics in these patients. The study hypothesis is that magnesium sulfate will significantly increase the rate of cooling.

Acute deterioration among hospitalised patient can result in serious adverse events like cardiac arrest, unexpected death or unanticipated intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Most events are preceeded by deteriorating vital signs, and potentially avoidable. To detect and treat hospitalised at-risk patients early an early warning score (EWS) was introduced at the investigator site. EWS measures of a number of physiological parameters that are aggregated to a common score, that directs monitoring frequency, clinical interventions and competency of the provider. Patients with low scores (0 - 1) are monitored every 12th hour and seldom experience serious adverse events. The optimal monitoring frequency for this group is unknown, and presently based on a compromise between patient safety and work load issues. The aim of the present study is to explore if an 8 hourly monitoring interval (intervention) is correlated with a better outcome than 12 hour intervals (control), based on the number of patients that deteriorate to a higher EWS 24 hours after hospital admission in each group.

To determine whether the regular administration of the beta-blocker drug propranolol to people who had had at least one documented myocardial infarction would result in a significant reduction of mortality from all causes over the follow-up period. Eligible volunteer patients were recruited to participate in a double-blind clinical trial within 21 days after the onset of the acute event. One-half of the patients were randomly assigned to a beta-blocking drug (propranolol) and one-half to a placebo. The trial also evaluated the effect of propranolol on incidences of coronary heart disease mortality, sudden cardiac death, and nonfatal myocardial infarction plus coronary heart disease mortality in persons with documented previous myocardial infarction.

Female sex is an independent risk factor for the potentially fatal drug-induced arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) known as torsades de pointes (TdP), which is associated with prolongation of the corrected QT (QTc) interval on the electrocardiogram (ECG). Mechanisms for this increased risk in women are not well-understood. QTc interval duration has been shown to fluctuate throughout the phases of the menstrual cycle. Evidence indicates that the QTc interval response to drugs that may cause TdP is greater during the menses and ovulation phases of the menstrual cycle, during which serum progesterone concentrations are lowest, and lesser during the luteal phase, during which serum progesterone concentrations are highest. Additional evidence from our laboratory suggests that progesterone may be protective against TdP. Specific Aim 1: Establish the influence of oral progesterone administration as a preventive method by which to diminish the degree of drug-induced QT interval prolongation in women. Working hypothesis: Oral progesterone administration effectively attenuates enhanced drug-induced QT interval response in women. To test this hypothesis, progesterone or placebo will be administered in a crossover fashion to women during the menses phase of the menstrual cycle. QTc interval response to low-dose ibutilide, a drug known to lengthen the QT interval, will be assessed. The primary endpoint will be individually-corrected QT interval (QTcI) response to ibutilide, in the presence and absence of progesterone, which will be assessed by: 1) Effect on maximum change in QTcI, and 2) Area under the QTcI interval-time curves (AUEC). At the conclusion of this study, we will have established that oral progesterone administration is a safe and effective method of attenuating drug-induced QT interval prolongation.

This research will be a prospective, cohort study to determine if mothers of infants/newborns are more willing to complete CPR training using a 22-minute instructional DVD and infant manikin versus traditional four hour didactic instruction. Study Hypothesis: A 22-minute instructional DVD and infant manikin will be an effective and preferred tool for teaching mothers of infants infant CPR. Objectives To determine if mothers of infants are more likely to complete infant CPR training with a 22-minute instructional DVD and infant manikin, than by attending a traditional CPR class. To determine if learning infant CPR with a 22-minute instructional DVD and infant manikin is as effective as attending traditional infant CPR class. To examine the number of mothers that were offered the opportunity to learn infant CPR either as part of their prenatal classes, or upon the birth of their infant. To examine the number of mothers who have been previously trained in CPR. To examine the reasons that mothers have been previously trained in CPR (e.g., mandated by work/career vs. personal reasons). To examine the multiplier effect of an at home CPR education using a 22-minute instructional DVD and infant manikin at the time of the follow up phone call.

In this study we hope to show that prescriptions provided for CPR Anytime™ to patients who are at risk for or have heart disease at three key locations, can motivate families to learn the skill. We will use our ED sites, an office based primary care setting, and an office based cardiology practice. Participants will be given the pharmacy locations where they can be purchased. Optimally they will complete the program at home with their family. Research Hypothesis: Families of patients at risk for coronary artery disease can be motivated to learn CPR by receiving a prescription for a CPR Anytime ™ self learning kit. As part of the multiplier effect, an additional 1.5 family members per participant are projected to be trained to perform CPR. Families may experience a "teachable moment" when their loved one is in the emergency department. In comparison to the office settings, this may increase the likelihood that they fill the prescription for CPR Anytime® and complete the learning kit.

Summary Growing evidence suggests that a significant proportion of in-hospital patient deaths occur after serious adverse events (SAE's). Concerns have been raised that too often patients' acute deteriorations, particularly on surgical and medical wards outside critical care settings, are identified too late and corrective actions taken too slowly. Many initiatives have been taken to prevent unexpected death by timely recognition, intervention and resuscitation efforts such as Rapid Response Systems (RRS's). RRS's have been introduced with the intention to prevent SAE's and to improve patient outcome by facilitating early detection of warning signs for clinical deterioration. These systems have four components (1) an afferent limb for detection and response triggering, (2) an efferent limb with medical or nursing response to prevent deterioration (3) a process improvement limb and (4) a governance and administrative structure. It remains uncertain which elements of RRS's contribute most to patient outcomes such as unplanned (re-) admission to the intensive care unit, shock, cardiac arrest and unexpected death. In addition, previous studies found that nurse observation, assessment and communication (afferent limb) are crucial to achieve better patient outcomes, but how to achieve afferent limb sustainability in hospitals is not clear. A previous study investigated 23 hospitals in Flanders (Belgium) about how nurses observe, assess, detect and communicate deteriorating and critical patients in surgical, medical and geriatric wards. Wide variation between hospitals was identified about critical patient intervention procedures, strategies and Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNAR) orders as well as between nurses about the use and knowledge of critical vital signs and call criteria for physician clinical advice and support. Nurses of hospitals with structured observation and communication protocols were better informed and perceived their communication and collaboration with physicians more favorable in compared to other hospitals. Based on these results conclusions and recommendations for further initiatives were formulated. The proposed Afferent Limb and Response Method intervention study will implement these recommendations guided by a robust scientific research approach to offer evidence to the nursing and medical practice community. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of the Afferent Limb Ascertainment and Response Method intervention or ALARM intervention in medical and surgical nursing wards of acute care hospitals on the prevention of SAE's such as in-hospital unexpected death, unplanned ICU-admission and cardiac arrest. Study hypothesis Optimizing and supporting the process of observation, use and interpretation of vital signs, detection, assessment, escalation and communication with a higher level of care in deteriorating patients can prevent serious adverse events (in-hospital unexpected death, unplanned ICU admission and cardiac arrest) in acute care hospitals.

To determine whether drug treatment of asymptomatic ventricular arrhythmias in post-myocardial infarction patients reduced the incidence of sudden cardiac death and total mortality.