View clinical trials related to Cardiomyopathies.
Filter by:Genes expressing inflammatory cytokines (TNF- alpha, IL1 etc) and genes involved in apoptosis (Caspase 3, Bax, Bcl-2, Fas) are dysregulated in the skeletal muscles of the patients who have muscle wasting and decreased exercise capacity with CHF. Patients who show benefit from CRT may also show reversal of the inflammatory/apoptotic cascade that accompanies CHF and these patients may be the ones who benefit the most from CRT
Heart failure is a very common cause of hospital admission and there are half a million new cases diagnosed each year in the United States. While some important progress has been made over the last two decades for the treatment of heart failure, there still remains a critical need for further advances in our understanding of this disease in order to significantly improve patient outcomes. Large numbers of heart failure patients need to be studied over time to allow scientists to investigate those factors that influence the responses to therapy.
The concept of diabetic cardiomyopathy was initially defined more than 30 years ago, as cardiac failure in diabetic subjects in the absence of underlying coronary artery disease. Diabetes is also thought to contribute to earlier stage cardiac systolic dysfunction and/or to isolated diastolic dysfunction, in excess of underlying coronary artery disease and hypertension. More globally, it is recognized that subjects with type 2 diabetes have more extensive cardiovascular disease and a worse outcome for a similar level of disease than non-diabetic subjects. Despite this epidemiological evidence, the biological programming underpinning the myriad presentations of the diabetic heart' are poorly characterized in humans. Proteomics has emerged as an unbiased technology that enables the measurement of large numbers of steady-state protein levels. The potential to identify a diabetes associated proteomic signature in the heart would be a novel approach to identify putative biological programs altered by the diabetic state. A portion of the right atrial appendage is removed to insert the cardiac bypass machine cannula in certain cardiothoracic procedures. This tissue is usually discarded, however, we propose that it could be employed to examine whether otherwise similar subjects with and without diabetes have distinct atrial proteomic signatures. This pilot study may provide insight into potential biological pathways that orchestrate the worse cardiac prognosis in type 2 diabetic versus non diabetic control subjects.
The purpose of this study is to learn about the twisting or wringing motion of the heartbeat called Left Ventricular Torsion (LV Torsion) which can be seen on ultrasound.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether patients with chronic heart failure not due to coronary artery disease who require use of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) for refractory heart failure can recover sufficient heart function to allow the pump to be explanted. The study aims to avoid the need for transplantation in these patients by using standard heart failure medications to reduce the size of the left ventricle and then using the investigational drug, clenbuterol, to further improve left ventricular function.
The purpose of the study is to determine whether use of the Berlin Heart EXCOR® Pediatric Ventricular Assist Device for bridge-to-transplant is associated with a reasonable assurance of safety and probable benefit such that the EXCOR® Pediatric merits approval by the Food and Drug Administration under a Humanitarian Device Exception (HDE).
This is a multi-center, prospective evaluation of left ventricular recovery on conventional therapy in patients with the recent onset of dilated cardiomyopathy. In some subjects with this disorder, the heart will recover significantly over the first year, while others will be left with a chronically weak heart. The proteins that help the heart recover are encoded by genes, which can differ markedly between individuals. The goal of the current study is to determine whether variation in these genes involved affect the probability that the heart will recover. We will also look at which genes are involved in inflammation and which ones are "turned on" (producing proteins) in circulating white blood cells.{These statements will only be added if the site has chosen to participate in RNA analysis}. In addition, this study will look at how levels of proteins in the blood, proteins called "cytokines' which control inflammation and proteins called "neurohormones" which are released when the heart weakens, affect the likelihood of recovery. Enrollment will take place at 15 centers. The goal is to enroll approximately 500 adult subjects (age 18 years or older, both men and women) over the course of approximately 48 months.
The purpose of this research study is to further establish the diagnostic use of magnetocardiography (MCG) in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The use of MCG has not been extensively studied in these patients. This pilot study will serve to further characterize abnormalities found on MCG in comparison to patients without hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Additionally, the study will be used to understand whether MCG has any additional diagnostic utility in offering clinicians insight on the patient's disease state, thereby aiding in the development of treatment plans. This research study is designed to test the effectiveness of the investigational use of magnetocardiography in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The device itself has been approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
We plan to study the concept of "energy starvation" in heart failure by evaluation of patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NIDCM) (heart failure with reduced heart pump function due to causes other than heart attack). We will use a combination of positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging to study metabolism, anatomy, function, blood flow and efficiency, before and after 6 months' treatment with the drug spironolactone which blocks the deleterious effects of the hormone aldosterone on the myocardium (heart muscle).
The study is testing the hypothesis, that the application of low dose erythropoetin beta (35 I.E./kg BW/week) for 6 months following successful coronary revascularization by PCI improves left ventricular remodeling as assessed by cardiac MRI.