Active clinical trials for "Heart Valve Diseases"

Evaluation of decellularized human heart valves for aortic heart valve replacement in comparison to current valve substitutes. Safety endpoints include cardiovascular adverse events, time to re-operation, re-intervention and explantation. Efficacy endpoints include freedom from valve dysfunction and hemodynamic performance.

The optimal intensity of oral anticoagulation in China patients undergoing mechanical valve replacements is still controversial due to the different risk profiles of thrombophilia and bleeding in Chinese patients. Elevated D-dimer could reflect a pro-thrombogenic or prothrombotic state, and thus might be used to decide the intensity of oral anticoagulation. This study was to evaluate whether elevated D-dimer levels could help to determine the intensity of oral anticoagulation in patients with mechanical heart valve prostheses.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether biomarkers of cell senescence and aging can predict the development of acute kidney injury following cardiac surgery.

This is a single center, prospective study: The 'CardioGard Cannula' Gaseous emboli capture results - shows an improvement from the control group.

Ischemia- reperfusion ( IR ) injuries were not only seen in the transplanted organs but also the remote organs such as lungs that brings major postoperative complications. Severe complications such as pulmonary infiltration and pulmonary edema following reperfusion were frequently associated with liver transplantation. Cardiac surgery performed with the use of cardiopulmonary bypass ( CPB ) provokes a systemic inflammatory response syndrome that affects postoperative pulmonary, myocardiac and renal functions. Previous study about the reperfusion injuries was focused on the leukocyte and endothelial activation and the following oxidative injuries, however, the alteration on pulmonary function such as dynamic compliance and the oxidative/antioxidative balance in erythrocytes and the following effects in CPB have not been fully studied. Erythrocytes' reaction to oxidative stress including cytoplasma and cell membrane should be studied because RBCs are the major circulating blood cells having different types of antioxidant system to capture reactive oxygen species ( ROS ) thus RBC may be severely injured by ROS or protected ROS injuries during CPB. In these three-year study, we plan to explore the extent and pattern of remote oxidative injuries in lungs by massive ROS production and the following products released from reperfused organs. In the first year, the remote pulmonary injuries from hepatic IR will be focused. We plan to establish an animal model for pulmonary function and pulmonary injury assessments including dynamic compliance (Cdyn), pulmonary edema wet-to-dry ratio (W/D), malondialdehyde (MDA) and histopathological findings under hepatic IR challenge. In the second year, the IR effects during and after CPB on circulating blood cells will be fully studied. We plan to investigate the magnitude, subtypes and timing on ROS production, the changes of oxidative and antioxidant activities of erythrocytes including cytoplasma and cell membrane, the changes on leukocytes and plasma to explore the roles of circulating erythrocytes on oxidative stress in CPB. In the third year, we plan to try propofol, stated having antioxidant in vivo and in vitro, on the remote pulmonary injuries following hepatic IR and CPB.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether patients with Parkinson's disease and treated with pergolide have a higher risk of heart valve disease compared to patients with Parkinson's disease not treated with pergolide.

The purpose of this study is to prospectively determine the relationship between the dimensions of the aorta (the large artery taking off the heart) and blood pressure during cardiac surgery.

The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic performance of three methods for measuring right ventricular size and function including the Philips Novel RV quantification technologies (RV Heart Model volumetric analysis and Philips 2D strain) and the Upper Valley Right Ventricle Algorithm (UVRV) algorithm as compared to the gold standard of volumetric analysis via cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) in a broad patient population.

To explore the effect of intraoperative sodium creatine phosphate on myocardial protection in patients undergoing valve surgery

Heart failure is characterized by cardiac fibrosis linked to extracellular collagen deposits. Collagens are synthesized as soluble precursors, procollagens, which must undergo proteolytic maturation to assemble into fibres. This step is under the control of two extracellular proteins, procollagen C-proteinase enhancer 1 and 2 (PCPE-1 and -2). The mechanism of action of these highly effective and specific activators was recently elucidated by one of our partners. Preliminary results, as well as data from the literature, indicate a strong correlation between the expression rates of PCPEs and cardiac fibrosis. The aim of this study is to validate in humans, by analysis of endomyocardial tissue biopsies, the hypothesis that PCPEs contribute to the anarchic accumulation of collagen during cardiac fibrosis and to evaluate the interest of developing new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for cardiac fibrosis using PCPE agonists.