View clinical trials related to Heart Defects, Congenital.
Filter by:Patients with congenital heart disease in whom the right ventricle is exposed to pressure or volume overload show progressive systolic dysfunction of the right ventricle, the fact of which conveys substantial morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study is to investigate the myocardial perfusion in these patients by myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) in order to determine whether disturbed blood flow plays a role in the development of right ventricular systolic dysfunction.
Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is a form of congenital heart disease (the person is born with it). With BAV, the heart valves in the aorta (the blood vessel that takes blood away from the heart to the body) are not formed right. A person with BAV has only 2 leaflets instead of three and the valve leaflets are often thickened. This can result in the block of blood flow across the valve (aortic stenosis) and/or valve leakage (aortic valve regurgitation). From our experience at least 1/3 of patients with BAV will eventually develop complications. Many patients with BAV do not develop significant problems until well into adulthood. The most common problem in BAV patients is aortic dilatation and/or dissection. At this point, we do not know on who or why aortic dilatation or dissection occurs.It is unclear whether the enlargement is because of abnormal blood flow patterns, as a result of the shape of the bicuspid valve, or whether it is because the way the aortic valve and/or vessel is formed. In other words, the abnormal shape of the aortic valve may cause blood to flow in a different way than it normally would, causing damage to the aorta as blood leaves the heart. There may be a problem with the way the aortic valve connects to the aorta, which causes the aorta to get larger or break down over time. It is also possible that the wall of the aorta in patients with BAV is weaker than it would be in patients without BAV. At this point, we do not know. It is believed by the investigators that if we can determine why the aorta gets larger or tears, we can minimize the effects or prevent them altogether. This study will collect blood and cardiac MRI images from forty-five (45) patients at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Egleston. There will be a study group (patients with BAV) and a control group of patients (patients scheduled for a cardiac MRI but without BAV). All enrolled patients will have blood drawn by nursing staff from a peripheral vein and collected in tubes for testing the day of their MRI scan. This test is called a plasma matrix metalloproteinase level. It is believed that patients who have bicuspid aortic valves and dilated aortas have high plasma levels of this protein. This study will compare the MRI images and plasma matrix protein levels of all the patients participating in the study.
There have been many improvements in the care of children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). This has helped these children survive longer. Because these children now live longer, researchers are recognizing developmental disabilities (the children are behind in their thinking or physical activity) in children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The purpose of this research study is to help the investigators learn more about developmental disabilities in children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. During the time of your child's first surgery for hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a monitor was placed on your child's forehead to measure the oxygen levels in the brain. This monitor is called Near Infrared Spectrometry (NIRS). The researchers involved in this study want to know if oxygen levels in the blood vessels of the brain have any effect on developmental disabilities later in life in children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The researchers plan to enroll 60 research subjects.
Malformations of the heart (congenital heart disease) are the most common congenital birth defects, occurring in about 1% of children. Each year, between 150-200 children will undergo open heart surgery at British Columbia Children's Hospital (BCCH) to repair the defect(s) in their heart. The abnormal structure of the heart or the open heart surgery may cause damage to the electrical system of the heart which can disturb the rhythm of the heart (arrhythmias), prolong recovery or be life-threatening. For this reason, temporary pacing wires are placed in the heart following surgery to ensure the heart rhythm is as normal as possible during the post-operative period (pacing). In recent years, scientists have recognized that pacing the heart from one area is not necessarily the same as pacing it from a different area. In fact, in some individuals with arrhythmias and poor heart function, pacing the heart from different areas can improve the pumping of the heart, resulting in better heart function. This form of treatment is called Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) because it endeavours to optimize the pumping of the heart by changing the electrical activation of the heart. CRT has been used to a very limited extent in children. A few pediatric cardiologists have used CRT to help children who are in heart failure. We would like to determine whether pacing the heart from different areas after open heart surgery improves the child's heart function and aids his or her recovery.
Contemporary management of cyanotic congenital heart disease includes three stages of surgery. Incidence of shunt thrombosis and death between the two first stages of palliation remains important. The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of Clopidogrel 0.2 mg/kg/day for the reduction of all cause mortality and shunt related morbidity in neonates or infants with cyanotic congenital heart disease palliated with a systemic-to-pulmonary artery shunt (e.g. modified Blalock Taussig Shunt [BTS]). The secondary objective was to assess the safety of Clopidogrel in the study population.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether intravenous N-acetylcysteine (also known as Acetadote), an antioxidant medication that has been used for years to treat Tylenol overdose, helps prevent heart dysfunction in the early postoperative period following congenital heart surgery. Children undergoing major heart surgery, such as the arterial switch operation, routinely develop temporary heart dysfunction in the first 12-24 hours after surgery. This heart dysfunction may be severe and contributes to an increased risk for death or prolonged hospitalization. Current standard treatments include intravenous medications such as dopamine, epinephrine, and vasopressin that support your child's blood pressure and heart function. Unfortunately, high doses of these medications have the potential to cause severe side effects including loss of fingers and toes, liver and kidney dysfunction, and heart rhythm abnormalities. Our goal is to find a way to reduce heart dysfunction after major heart surgery in order to promote a smoother postoperative period, and reduce the risks associated with heart operations in children.
Multidetector Computed Tomographic Coronary Angiography (MDCTCA) has been recently demonstrated to be accurate and may be used as a potential alternative to conventional invasive coronary angiography, which requires cardiac catheterization, for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. The purpose of this study is to see if MDCTCA can identify significant coronary artery disease as good as or better than conventional coronary angiography (CICA). The study is designed to enroll 900 subjects and is being conducted in 6 hospitals in Ontario. Subjects scheduled for conventional cardiac catheterization and coronary angiography will receive an additional test using MDCTCA. The information gathered during the MDCTCA will be compared to the results of the scheduled conventional invasive coronary angiogram.
Each year in the United States, thousands of babies are born with heart defects. Women who take folic acid during pregnancy have a lower risk of giving birth to infants with heart defects, but the reason for this remains unknown. This study will examine the relationship between genes, nutrition, and the occurrence of heart defects in infants.
This proposal is aimed at developing a novel method for modeling and analyzing clinical factors impacting RV function, which can lead to a more reliable, consistent, and comprehensive pre-operative treatment planning. In particular, the proposed work centers on the creation of an accurate and clinically useful heart model with which to quantify, visualize, and interpret several clinical findings that are central to the medical decision-making process. The hypothesis is that by providing clinicians with 3D models that capture numerous relevant patient findings in an integrated, quantitative manner they can make more consistent, reliable, and accurate clinical assessments and may also be able to predict factors complicit in RV dysfunction and impending failure.
The purpose of this study is to determine which is the most effective intervention for increasing lifestyle physical activity in Fontan patients: an education (stage of change) intervention or a physical activity (mastery experience) intervention.