View clinical trials related to Cardiovascular Disease.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to understand if omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil enhance the ability of aspirin to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke in those who have diabetes mellitus.
The goal of this research is to improve communication to Veterans. The investigators want to improve how doctors and nurses talk to patients about the risk of heart attack and stroke. The investigators will give everyone in the study information about the risk for heart attack or stroke. The investigators will also provide information on how to reduce this risk. This information will be given in one of two ways. The investigators want to see which way of giving information works better for veterans. The investigators also want to assess the impact of personalized stroke risk communication to patients at risk for stroke on patient knowledge, beliefs, and preferences for risk reduction behaviors and evaluate the impact of personalized risk communication on medication adherence and blood pressure. The investigators plan to enroll approximately 100 veterans for this study. All veterans will be from the Durham VA Primary Care Clinics. The investigators will ask everyone to be in the study for 3 months.
The purpose of The Veteran Health Study (CSP #569) is to better understand the mental and physical health of veterans as they get older. We are inviting approximately 10,000 members of the Vietnam Era Twin (VET) Registry to participate. As veterans approach their mid-sixties, it is important to understand the impact of wartime deployment on health and mental health outcomes nearly 40 years later. The investigators will assess the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental and physical health conditions for Vietnam era veterans, and explore the relationship between PTSD and other conditions. CSP #569 involves 3 phases of data collection. In Phase I, VET Registry members are invited to complete a paper and pencil questionnaire including items on physical and mental health, disability, health behaviors, demographic information and use of health care services. After completing Phase I, VET Registry members are invited to Phase II which involves a telephone interview about mental health. In Phase III, some of those who participated in Phase I will be invited to a sub-study confirming self-reported heart disease and diabetes using a provider survey. Data collected for CSP #569 will be combined with existing VET Registry data. This will provide a rich picture of the health of Vietnam era veterans and the influence of PTSD on the lives of veterans.
The primary purpose of this study is to compare the change in blood carotene concentration between a food-based versus nutritional supplement-based intervention. This study will randomize up to 60 healthy volunteers to receive either carotenoid-enriched food; natural, mixed carotenoid supplementation; chlorophyll complex or placebo supplementation. Blood carotene levels will be measured before and after 28 days of supplementation. Preliminary data will also be collected on several biomarkers associated with vascular inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. These biomarkers will be measured before and during a fast food control meal at the beginning and end of the intervention period.
This pilot study will investigate the effects of acute peanut consumption on markers of inflammation, triglycerides and glucose. The hypothesis is that a high glucose/SFA meal will increase postprandial production of the inflammatory marker, C-reactive protein (CRP), and that the addition of peanuts to the control meal will reduce the production of CRP, as well as triglycerides and glucose.
Endothelial Progenitor Cells (EPCs) are circulating cells released from bone marrow which are important for maintaining cardiovascular health. The prevalence of cardiovascular disease in older adults is associated with reduced circulating EPC numbers. Studies have shown reduced EPC number and function in old vs. young individuals, and endurance exercise training increases EPC number and function in young adults. Oxidative stress adversely affects endothelial cells and preliminary evidence indicates that oxidative stress negatively affects EPC function. Conversely, regular exercise reduces markers of oxidative stress and may enhance EPC function in older adults. The investigators hypothesize that older endurance-trained athletes and matched sedentary individuals will have markedly divergent EPC function and that altering the physical activity levels of both groups will move them to intermediate points between these two extremes. The investigators also propose that the investigators can "mimic" the effect of exercise training on EPC function in cell culture by altering intracellular levels of a key enzyme and a signaling molecule which the investigators have shown to regulate EPC function with respect to exercise training in young individuals.
The VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL) is a randomized clinical trial in 25,871 U.S. men and women investigating whether taking daily dietary supplements of vitamin D3 (2000 IU) or omega-3 fatty acids (Omacor® fish oil, 1 gram) reduces the risk of developing cancer, heart disease, and stroke in people who do not have a prior history of these illnesses. The 5-year intervention phase (study pill-taking, median 5.3 years) has ended; post-intervention observational follow-up of study participants is ongoing.
The initial manifestation of symptomatic coronary disease can range from angina (or symptoms of angina), unheralded acute coronary syndrome (ACS), or unheralded coronary death. A better understanding of gender differences in initial presentation of coronary disease and the rate and predictors of progression to subsequent stages in coronary disease could help to identify which gender- specific factors might reduce or slow transition to more serious disease states and improve outcomes. The investigators' research focuses on the role primary care management of cardiovascular risk factors plays in gender differences in the progression to subsequent disease states and to mortality.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) represents the first cause of mortality in industrialized countries such as Canada and the United States. In that regard, it is being increasingly recognized that a significant proportion of CVD events may be attributable to the presence of a cluster of metabolic and physiological perturbations defined as the metabolic syndrome (MetS). The National Cholesterol Education Program- Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) has recently proposed a clinical definition to identify individuals with the MetS. This definition is based on the presence of at least three of the following five characteristics: 1- abdominal obesity, 2- hypertriglyceridemia, 3- reduced plasma HDL-C levels, 4- high blood pressure, 5- high fasting blood glucose levels. Recent data have suggested that the MetS based on this definition was associated with a 2 to 5 fold increase in the risk of CVD in men as well as in women. These are alarming figures since it has been suggested that as much as 35 to 45% of female aged > 65 years in the US may have the MetS. It is therefore imperative to develop new preventive strategies that will be efficacious in attenuating the impact of the MetS on the progressing rates of CVD in women. In that context, there is accumulating evidence to suggest that milk and dairy products may beneficially modify several components of the MetS. However, most of the available data to date are based on observational studies or interventional studies with minimal nutritional control. Thus, metabolically controlled studies that document the impact of milk consumption on cardiovascular risk factors associated with the MetS in women defined a priori as having the MetS are utterly lacking. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of milk consumption on features of the MetS in menopausal women presenting one or more features of the MetS.
The majority of trans fatty acids consumed by the general population is derived from products that have been formulated using significant amount of hydrogenated vegetable oil (the so-called industrial trans fat). Fat from ruminants also contains small amounts of trans fatty acid, which contribute, although to a smaller extent, to the total dietary intake of trans fatty acids in the general population. The negative impact of consuming industrial trans fat on health, particularly on cardiovascular disease, is being increasingly recognized. Based on data available to date, it is currently not possible to conclude if effects of ruminants and industrial trans fatty acid on cardiovascular risk are different. There is therefore an urgent need for a study that compares the impact of naturally occurring trans fatty acids such as those from dairy products and of trans fatty acids form industrial sources on cardiovascular risk factors as well as their mechanisms of action. The general objective of the study is to investigate the impact of naturally occurring trans fatty acids from dairy products (mainly vaccenic acid) on plasma cholesterol levels and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease.