View clinical trials related to Heart Diseases.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of cardiac disease/coronary artery disease and diagnostic yield of different non-invasive methods in patients with type 2 diabetes 40-75 years of age at examination. Exercise tests, Doppler echocardiographic examination with Tissue Velocity Imaging, stress Echocardiography, transthoracic Doppler of coronary arteries with coronary flow reserve, and cardiac MRI with late enhancement at rest, and perfusion after vasodilatation stress will be used in the study. A subpopulation will in addition measure forearm vasodilation(FMD) and CFR before and after 4 months of exercise training.
It is well know that statins have been used to low cholesterol to prevent and treat coronary artery disease for many years. It was also reported that statins could protect endothelial function and cardiac function during coronary artery bypass graft. However, some results were controversial. Also, there is no clinical data available on statin cardiac protection during surgery in China where rheumatic heart disease is prevalent. Thus, the investigators are trying to see whether statins can protect heart injury during cardiac surgery in Chinese. Part of patients will receive statin treatment and part of will not before surgery in the study. Both patients' heart function will be measured and compared after surgery to determine whether statins can protect heart injury during heart surgery.
Some myocardial infarctions (MI) occur as the first manifestation of coronary artery disease. These are termed 'unheralded' events as they have not been preceded by other forms of coronary artery disease. Unheralded MIs are important because of the high likelihood of missed opportunities for prevention. The proportion of MIs that are 'unheralded' is unknown. This study aims to quantify the proportion of MIs that occur 'unheralded' and also give an estimate of the incidence of 'unheralded' MI in the UK, compared to 'heralded' MI and those with angina of recent onset (MIs with premonitory symptoms).
The effects of race/ethnicity on platelet function and response to antiplatelet agents will be assessed using healthy participants and coronary heart disease patients from at least 5 racial/ethnic groups.
Endostatin, a 20-kDa cleavage product of collagen XVIII, is a component of the extracellular matrix expressed in the basement membrane. As a potent inhibitor of angiogenesis, endostatin induces endothelial cell apoptosis and diminishes cell migration, adhesion and proliferation. Endostatin may stop the progression of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerotic heart disease involves unwanted tissue growth. By cutting off the blood supply from a plaque the likelihood of plaque rupture may eventually be reduced. Recent data indicates that the loss of collagen XVIII/endostatin is related to the enhancement of neo-vascularization and vascular permeability in atherosclerosis. Plaque neo-vascularization strongly correlates with the regional content of inflammatory cells. Furthermore, increased vascular permeability enhances lipid accumulation in the vessel walls, hence increasing foam cells. Therapeutic angiogenesis is a most promising strategy for the treatment of myocardial infarction. However, it remains unknown if and how endogenous angiogenesis inhibitors, such as endostatin, regulate angiogenesis in myocardial infarction. Rat models showed that after myocardial infarction endostatin neutralization displayed adverse left ventricular remodeling and severe heart failure compared with controls. Although angiogenesis was increased, tissue remodeling and interstitial fibrosis were further exaggerated in post-myocardial infarction hearts by endostatin neutralization. However, several studies suggest that endostatin may locally modulate coronary collateral formation by inhibiting collateral vessel formation in patients with ischemic heart disease. During treadmill exercise tests in healthy volunteers a significant increase in circulating endostatin levels can be observed. Exercise induces angiogenesis in cardiac and skeletal muscles by decreasing endostatin in the muscle tissues to increase blood flow to these metabolically active tissues. Thereby endostatin is released into the general circulation. In summary, endostatin might be a new weapon to fight against atherosclerotic progression by inhibiting neo-vascularization of atherosclerotic plaques.
Background: - Heart failure is a common cardiovascular disorder whose incidence increases with age, affecting up to 10% of people older than 65 years of age. As the population ages, the prevalence and cost of heart failure will continue to rise. Researchers are interested in using noninvasive imaging methods to better understand the symptoms and effects of heart failure. Objectives: - To conduct a noninvasive comparative imaging study of individuals with heart failure. Eligibility: - Individuals at least 18 years of age who have been diagnosed with heart failure (with at least mild symptoms and slight limitations on physical activity). Design: - This study will last approximately 2 years and will require four visits to the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, with one screening visit and three study visits. - Participants will be screened with a full medical history and physical examination, as well as blood and urine samples. - Participants will have the following tests during each study visit: - Physical examination - Blood and urine samples - Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging - Cardiac computerized tomography to study the blood vessels in and leading to the heart - Echocardiogram to evaluate heart function - Electrocardiogram to measure heart electrical activity - The three study visits will take place 1 year apart. Participants will also receive follow-up phone calls 6 months after the first and second visits. - No treatment will be provided as part of this protocol.
A study to examine the effectiveness of a multilevel Community Health Workers intervention as an adjunct to routine primary care in reducing CVD risk factors among diabetic Latinos in Miami.
The primary objective of the study is to see if coronary artery calcium score and computed tomography coronary angiogram alters the proportion of patients diagnosed with angina due to coronary heart disease.
The goal of the PROMUS™ Element™ Everolimus-Eluting Coronary Stent System European Post- Approval Surveillance Study is to evaluate real world clinical outcomes data for the PROMUS™ Element™ Coronary Stent System in unselected patients in routine clinical practice.
The aim of this study is to determine if stress first pass imaging in conjunction with a nuclear scan will improve the sensitivity for detecting heart disease. This study will also test the usefulness of a nuclear medicine camera, CDLCAM One Pass Angiography system.