View clinical trials related to Cardiovascular Diseases.
Filter by:Understanding the mechanisms of obesity-induced hypertension is important both for prevention and therapy. Studies of patients with established obesity have provided valuable information on pathophysiologic links between obesity and both blood pressure and cardiovascular risk. However, these studies are necessarily limited by the heterogeneity of obesity-associated disease so that the relative contribution of obesity or hypertension or other co-existing diseases to specific regulatory abnormalities is often not clear. Clarification of whether any abnormalities associated with increased cardiovascular risk were present before or after the development of obesity has also been problematic. We therefore propose a series of novel studies directed at establishing the effects of increased body fat in otherwise healthy individuals. We will determine the distribution patterns of increased body fat and how both increased body fat and fat distribution relate to changes in blood pressure, and in neural, endothelial and inflammatory mechanisms which have been implicated in the development and progression of cardiac and vascular disease. We will study non-obese subjects with and without a family history of hypertension. These subjects will undergo an eight-week program of overfeeding with the objective of inducing a 4 kg fat gain. We will determine the nature of fat distribution in these individuals after the fat gain program and subsequently after an eight-week period of weight loss and restoration of normal body weight. Measurements will be compared to those obtained in a matched control group with and without a family history of hypertension, who will continue their normal diets. We will test the following hypotheses: - Individuals with a family history of hypertension will gain more visceral fat and upper body subcutaneous fat and will have greater blood pressure increases with overfeeding- compared with those without such a family history. - For all overfed subjects, increases in blood pressure and insulin resistance with fat gain will be most marked in those individuals with a predominantly upper body and visceral fat accumulation. - Upper body and visceral fat gain will also be associated with greater impairment in cardiovascular function, higher nocturnal blood pressures and an increased likelihood of sleep disordered breathing.
The purpose of this pilot study is to examine the effect of diet and/or exercise-induced weight loss on nontraditional cardiovascular risk factors such as c-reactive protein, insulin levels and sex steroids in obese postmenopausal women.
The ABCD clinical study (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT00187291) was designed to determine if a T-Wave Alternans (TWA) test is equivalent to an Electrophysiology Study (EPS) in predicting life-threatening heart rhythms in patients with ischemic heart disease, left ventricular dysfunction, and non-sustained tachycardia. The purpose of the ABCD Genetic sub-study is to identify genetic markers that predict TWA status and arrhythmia risk in this same population.
The aim of the proposed study is to implement and evaluate Outreach Facilitation as a means to increase the uptake of evidence-based practice for secondary prevention and management of patients with established CVD and cardiovascular risk factors, in primary care practices throughout the Champlain LHIN. This initiative centers on the use of an Outreach Facilitation Model, in which skilled health professionals known as facilitators (Practice Change Consultants) serve as an expert resource to primary care practices in three areas: a) practice performance assessment, feedback, and consensus building towards goal setting and implementation; b) clinical, technical, organizational resources and practical advice; and c) encouragement to face and move through the challenges associated with implementing system change.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether short-term exposure to a compound found in some fruits and vegetables (anthocyanin), is effective in improving skin health and reducing the levels of various markers of cardiovascular disease risk. A range of skin health parameters are being studied and volunteers are also providing skin biopsy, urine and blood samples. 62 postmenopausal women have been recruited for this study.
For unexplained reasons, young premenopausal women with heart disease have twice the rate of death compared to men of the same age. Animal experiments have shown that stress can reduce ovary function in females monkeys due to reductions in brain hormones. This stress and reduced brain hormone levels lead to low estrogen levels and can cause menstrual cycles to become irregular, leading to reductions in fertility. These monkeys are also more likely to develop heart disease. In order, to better understand this relationship the investigators would like to study estrogen levels in premenopausal women with heart disease. Premenopausal women who have recently undergone a study of their coronary (heart) arteries will have their blood hormone levels measured over one menstrual cycle. The investigators will correlate the blood hormone levels with coronary angiography results and with other markers of heart disease, such as a test that uses noninvasive, painless ultrasound waves to study the thickness of the arteries in the neck (carotid arteries). In addition blood cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels and other blood tests have been shown to correlate with heart disease will be measured. Another aim of the study is to evaluate a potential link between environmental stress and hormone levels. Each patient will be given multiple questionnaires to evaluate stress, anxiety and depression and the investigators will be measuring the stress hormone (cortisol) levels in saliva for additional information. The results of the study will further explore a possible link between low estrogen levels and heart disease in young premenopausal women and help pave the way for larger research studies to define better ways of preventing heart disease in these women.
The TAXUS ARRIVE 2 study is a multi-center safety and surveillance study designed to to compile safety surveillance and clinical outcomes data for the TAXUS™ Express2™ Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System in routine clinical practice and to identify low frequency TAXUS related clinical events.
Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of death in the hemodialysis population and calcification of the major arteries (coronary, aorta, and carotid) are a play a central role in this process. The major causes of the calcification are many, including high levels of phosphorus, low levels of inhibitors of calcification, positive calcium balance, and oxidative stress. Once vascular calcification is present, it is usually progressive. There is no known treatment to reverse established vascular calcification. Sodium thiosulfate has been used extensively and safely to treat calcific uremic arteriopathy (a disease, in part due to calcification of small arteries) in dialysis patients. It increases the solubility of calcium by up to 100,000 fold and is also a potent anti-oxidant. It therefore has to potential to also decrease the amount of calcium in large arteries in dialysis patients and, hence improve survival. We will study hemodialysis (HD) patients at high risk for cardiovascular disease and death by obtaining a multidetector computerized tomography (MDCT) Scan of the coronary arteries, carotid arteries and aorta and an assessment of coronary artery stenoses by a simultaneous intravenous infusion of contrast. At the same setting, we will perform tests of pulse wave velocity (PWV) and carotid ultrasound carotid intima-media thickness(CIMT)studies. In those patients at high risk for cardiovascular death, defined as a coronary artery calcification score (CACS)of greater than 50, sodium thiosulfate at a dose of 12.5-25 gm/1.73 M2 will be infused over 15-30 minutes after each dialysis treatment for 5 months. The above studies will then be repeated.
A randomised three period cross over trial will be carried out in adults (19-64 years) to assess the acute and chronic effects of a large dose of apple procyanidin (PA) compared with a low dose of apple PA (negative control) and aspirin (positive control), on platelet function and other risk factors of cardiovascular disease. Platelet function will be assessed prior to a run in diet and at the start and end of each intervention. Volunteers will be assigned at random to consume 230grams of low PA apple puree or high PA apple puree or aspirin (75mg) each day for 2 weeks followed by a minimum 14 day wash out. Hypothesis: Consuming apple PA reduces platelet function consistent with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
The purpose of this pilot study is to provide data on the feasibility of conducting a large clinical trial on the polypill (combination of aspirin, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, thiazide diuretic, and statin) for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). We hypothesized that A "polypill" comprising the aforementioned four components would significantly reduce the estimated 10-year total CVD risk score with high adherence and no significant increase in adverse effects compared to the standard practice.