View clinical trials related to Cardiovascular Diseases.
Filter by:The rapid rise in obesity (body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2) in the US over the past decade is responsible for more disease and death than any other single factor. Severe obesity is associated with numerous co-morbidities contributing to increased mortality risk, including end stage liver disease. Liver transplantation is a life-saving procedure for patients with end stage liver disease and obesity is becoming increasingly prevalent in this population. In one study, 54% of patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplant (OLT) were either overweight or obese [body mass index (BMI) >25 kg/m2], and 7% were severely or morbidly obese (BMI > 35 kg/m2). In addition, weight gain after solid organ transplantation is common because of steroid-containing immunosuppression and physical inactivity from decreased exercise tolerance. Obesity has been shown to increase the surgical morbidity, including wound infections, wound dehiscence, and hernias after transplantation. More significantly, excess pretransplant body weight hinders the rate of improvement in health-related quality of life after liver transplantation[7]. One possible approach for treating obesity after a liver transplant is to use bariatric surgery. Currently, bariatric surgery is established as the most effective means for both weight loss and resolution of metabolic disease in the morbidly obese. Recent publications emphasize the usefulness of bariatric surgery in the reduction of long-term cardiometabolic risk, cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality, and the management of uncontrolled type 2 diabetes (T2DM). In addition, it decreases mortality and improves both social functioning and quality of life. Bariatric surgery may improve eligibility for transplant in patients previously excluded due to excessive weight. Bariatric procedures, such as sleeve gastrectomy, allow for significant weight loss over time that greatly reduces or eliminates obesity related illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure and liver disease. According to the National Institutes of Health, bariatric surgery is reserved for patients with a BMI of > 40 or > 35 kg/m2 in the presence of major co-morbidities (e.g. type 2 diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, heart disease, etc). A significant number of liver transplant candidates have obesity-related illnesses, thus putting them at risk for cardiovascular and metabolic complications post-transplant. In addition, patients awaiting OLT are typically no longer medically stable to undergo intensive diet and exercise regimens as treatment for their diseases. Finally, decreased activity and medications used to prevent liver graft rejection all contribute to increased weight gain following transplant. In fact, in a series of 320 non-obese liver transplant recipients, 21.6% of patients became obese within two years of transplant. These comorbidities also contribute to poorer post-transplant outcomes and development of what is known as the post-transplant metabolic syndrome. Morbidly obese patients (BMI > 40 kg/m2) may also have higher frequencies of morbidities such as prolonged hospitalization and readmission as well as infectious, wound, and cardiovascular complications after transplantation. Finally, intra-abdominal adiposity creates a technically more challenging operative dissection, but no data exist on whether it increases perioperative morbidity or mortality in liver transplant patients. Sleeve gastrectomy is the most attractive restrictive procedure in a liver transplant population for several key reasons. One, sleeve gastrectomy does not require the implantation of a foreign body, such as placement of an adjustable gastric band, which in an immunocompromised post-transplant patient raises concern for severe infectious complications. Secondly, as stated previously, sleeve gastrectomy is a purely restrictive procedure, and therefore is least likely to cause significant macronutrient and micronutrient deficiencies. Finally, when compared to other restrictive procedures, such as adjustable gastric band placement, it has a lower likelihood of treatment failure (i.e. <50% excess weight loss). In fact, recent reports describe not only high failure rates with adjustable gastric band placement, but also high reintervention rates for both band-related complications (e.g. band erosion, leakage, slippage, port infection and esophageal dilatation) and failure to lose weight such that as few as 54% of patients may have their band in place after 10 years.
Study hypothesis Aleurone-rich food supplementation modifies cardiovascular and metabolic risk profiles and gut microbiota in subjects with high BMI Primary objectives of the trial are to evaluate whether wheat Aleurone-rich food supplementation modifies (1) fasting homocysteine levels; (2) human biofluid primary metabolites; (3) human biofluid secondary (microbiota-derived) metabolites; (4) fecal bile acid and fecal sterol concentrations. Secondary objectives are to evaluate whether wheat Aleurone-rich food supplementation modifies (1) fecal microbiota, (2) plasma and urine MS based metabolite profiling; (3) total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL- and HDL-cholesterol levels; (4) serum glucose and insulin levels; (5) anthropometric indices; (6) urinary isoprostane levels; (7) markers of intestinal permeability in plasma; (8) inflammation Study Design Placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind parallel trial Criteria for Enrollment Inclusion criteria: Aged 18-65 years; BMI >27 kg/m^2. Good General health. Exclusion criteria: Fasting blood glucose >300 mg/dl; triglycerides >500 mg/dl; uncontrolled hypertension (blood pressure [BP] >160/100 mm Hg under antihypertensive therapy); any long term medical therapy; food intolerances; alcohol intake >5 drinks per day or use of narcotic substances; use of dietary supplements, pro or pre- biotics; special diet; pregnancy, tobacco smoking. Methodology After a run-in phase of two weeks, participants will be randomized to receive supplementation with either wheat Aleurone-rich food (27 g Aleurone/day) or placebo for 4 weeks in a double-blind manner. Clinical visit, clinical tests, and blood drawing will be performed after an overnight fasting at the start of the run-in phase (visit T-1) at U.O.S. di Dietetica e Nutrizione Clinica, St Chiara, Trento. Clinical tests, blood drawing, and stool and urine collection will be performed during visits at the beginning and end of each treatment period (T0 and T1) at U.O.S. di Dietetica e Nutrizione Clinica, St chiara, Trento. A 4 day-food diary record will be collected before visits T0 and T1. Efficacy Assessments Arterial BP; BMI; ratio of waist to hip circumference; food questionnaires; blood sample analysis (total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL and LDL cholesterol, serum glucose and insulin, C-RP, plasma LPS, LPS specific IgG, CD14, LPS-binding protein); urinary isoprostane; urinary and plasma metabolite profiling; fecal microbiota analysis. Safety Assessments. Adverse events. Statistical analyses. Post-intervention data will be compared by ANOVA using the General Linear Model with baseline as a covariate. Data with a skewed distribution will be log transformed before analyses. Simple and multiple linear regression will be used to determine relationships between variables and independent t-tests performed to evaluate differences in reported compliance between groups. Results will be expressed as mean +/- SEM and differences will be considered significant at P < 0.05.. Duration of Dosing. Subjects will make three visits during the study (start of run-in phase - visit T-1-, beginning - visit T0, week 2 - and end of treatment period - visit T1, week 6). Duration of the treatment period is four weeks; a daily Aleurone consumption of 27 g is targeted.
The purpose of this Randomized Study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the Excel-II DES compared to the EXCEL DES in the treatment of patients with de novo coronary artery lesions.
Our objective is to develop a community-based cohort and novel genomic science resource for defining the biological significance of ancestry-related genomic variation in African-Americans within the GENE-FORECAST :GENomics, Environmental FactORs and the Social DEterminants of Cardiovascular Disease in African Americans STudy. This resource will enable our team to test the working hypothesis that race-ancestry differences in the burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) reflects the influence of a unique interplay between the distinct genomic variation characteristic of African-Americans (AA) and the exposome of social determinants and environmental factors that influence the pathogenesis of CVD in AA. The specific aims are: AIM I. To examine the associations between common or ancestry-related DNA variants and CVD risk factors (e.g. hypertension) and phenotypes (e.g. coronary artery calcification) in African-Americans (AA). AIM II. To examine the associations between health behaviors or social-environmental factors and CVD risk factors and phenotypes in AA. The study is designed to create a cohort amenable to nested case-control analyses based on a community-based sampling frame with a target size of approximately 1800 self-identified, US -born, African-American (AA) men and women (ages 21-65) to be recruited over the next 5-6 years from the metropolitan Washington DC, Montgomery County (MC) and Prince George s County (PG) areas to be recruited to the NIH Clinical Center. The initial participant recruitment strategy involved two approaches: 1) a random-digit telephone screening survey targeting study-eligible AA that will be consented and invited to an evaluation visit in the NIH Clinical Center which we contracted with a well-established survey group (Southern Research Group [SRG]); and 2) a community outreach effort to recruit participants into the Clinical Center by leveraging marketing and the engagement of community-based leaders, organizations and faith-based institutions in the area. We are no longer contracting with SRG but rather focusing on community outreach and marketing for recruitment to the Clinical Center. The contract with SRG was terminated after the first two years of the protocol due to low yield of recruitment to the Clinical Center compared to community outreach. Given the high burden of CVD among AA, this approach will yield a sample with normal individuals as well as a high proportion of AA with CVD risk factors such as obesity and hypertension that predispose to the eventual clinical signs and symptoms of CVD (e.g. heart attack and stroke). Based on previous epidemiology studies, this protocol s participant ascertainment approach and the target demographic profile; it is anticipated that the prevalence of clinically manifest CVD (history of angina, heart attack or stroke) will be less than 10-15% of the sample. All participants will undergo extensive evaluation in the Clinical Center that includes: medical evaluation (e.g. anthropometrics, blood pressure), laboratory tests (e.g. lipid levels, kidney function), social determinants profiles (e.g. socioeconomic status (SES), perceived stress, discrimination, depression, perceived neighborhood characteristics), blood/urine collection for deep-sequencing based omic analyses (e.g. whole exome sequencing, and RNA-Seq), as well as testing for pre-clinical , biomarkers of the pathobiological processes of CVD or CVD phenotypes (e.g. coronary artery calcification, microalbuminuria, leukocyte telomeres, or vascular dysfunction). It is anticipated that these deep sequencing efforts will yield novel ancestry-related DNA variants associated with the CVD phenotypes; yet with unclear biological significance in elucidating racial disparities in CVD. Accordingly, our protocol also includes a Genotype-to-Phenotype (G2P) component that re- contacts subsets of the cohort based on their genotype (e.g. APOL1 chronic kidney disease risk alleles) for a call-back visit for more in-depth phenotyping and characterization of the potential effect of the DNA variant of interest on human systems biology. In some cases family members of the proband may also be invited to participate in these G2P studies to further characterize the biological significance of these putative functional DNA variants of interest. The primary outcome variables involve well established CVD phenotypes: 1) CVD risk factors (e.g. hypertension, dyslipidemia), 2) markers of pre-clinical CVD (i.e. coronary artery calcification, coronary plaque burden by cardiac CT angiography (CTA), carotid plaque burden by 3D ultrasound, vascular dysfunction, microalbuminuria, C-reactive protein, Vitamin D levels). The protocol will assess exposures associated with CVD and relevant covariates including: 1) social determinants (e.g. socioeconomic status (SES), perceived stress, discrimination, and depression); 2) environmental factors s...
Depression is highly prevalent among patients with heart failure (HF) and associated with lower levels of health-related quality of life and physical functioning, and higher risk of rehospitalization and mortality, and higher health costs. This Project will compare the effectiveness of a "blended" telephone-delivered collaborative care intervention for treating both HF and depression to: (1) collaborative care for HF-alone ("enhanced usual care"; eUC); and (2) doctors' "usual care" for depression (UC). If proven effective and cost-effective, the potentially more powerful, scalable, efficient "blended" care approach for treating HF and co-morbid depression could have profound implications for improving chronic illness care and stimulate development of "blended" interventions for treating other clusters of related medical conditions.
There are recent advances in therapies for the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) which include the GLP1 analogues and the DPP IV inhibitors. Both of these therapies target the incretin system using different methods to elevate/maintain circulating levels of GLP1 to subsequently achieve improved blood sugar control. Interestingly, GLP1 analogues have been reported not only to improve blood sugar control but to additionally induce weight-loss and emerging experimental evidence has shown it may have beneficial effects on the heart's structure and function. Due to the profile of this condition being a lot worse and younger patients having greater CVD risk, a therapy offering multiple positive effects, in particular the potential cardiometabolic effects, make this line of therapy attractive in this patient population. The aim of this research is to investigate the cardiometabolic effects of Liraglutide (GLP1 analogue) compared to that of its clinically relevant comparator Sitagliptin (DPP IV inhibitor).
The objective of this study is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the EVARREST™ Fibrin Sealant Patch as an adjunct to hemostasis during cardiovascular surgery.
Regional anesthesia is the cornerstone of modern postoperative analgesia, but concerns remain about possible adverse effects and complication. RICALOR Group Investigators developed a national registry to register the incidence of regional anesthesia-associated complications and to identify possible risk factors.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States. Despite strong evidence that reducing low-density lipoproteins (LDL) with statins successfully lowers CVD risk, physicians under-prescribe statins, physicians fail to intensify treatment when indicated, and more than 50% of patients stop taking statins within one year of first prescription though such therapy typically should be life-long. In this study, we will test the effectiveness of different financial incentives in increasing statin use and reducing LDL cholesterol among patients with poor cholesterol control who are at very high risk for CVD. The application of conceptual approaches from behavioral economics offers considerable promise in advancing health and health care. We will test these approaches among patients at very high risk of CVD at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates. Using a 4-arm, cluster-randomized controlled trial, we aim to answer these questions: [1] How does the provision of patient incentives compare to no incentives at all? [2] Is success with patient incentives improved by increasing the financial amounts? [3] Are results sustained after incentives and other interventions are withdrawn? Study Objectives and Hypothesis Aim 1: To evaluate the effectiveness of varying patient incentives on improvement in LDL cholesterol relative to usual care during a 3-month intervention among patients at high risk of CVD. H1: Each of the incentives will be more effective than usual care in reducing LDL cholesterol. Aim 2: To evaluate the relative effectiveness of those intervention arms superior to control in reducing LDL cholesterol. H2: Higher incentive amounts for patients will be more effective than lower incentive amounts. Aim 3: To evaluate the impact of each effective intervention in sustaining adherence and reduced LDL after the 3-month intervention period. Aim 4: To conduct a rigorous process evaluation to examine why some incentives were more effective than others and to address other factors relevant to broader implementation.
In this project, individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease who are looking to lose weight or increase your level of activity, are offered access to an online lifestyle management program. Participants will use the website daily to improve their eating and exercise habits as well as other aspects of healthy living. They will be asked to participate in online challenges to motivate them to make lifestyle changes. Participants will meet with a health professional 3 times within the 6 month time period as well as receive monthly guidance and support by phone or email for the website.