View clinical trials related to Heart Diseases.
Filter by:One of the most common ways for preventing coronary heart disease (CHD) is to take aspirin or clopidogrel. However, studies have shown that not all people respond to these medications. The variance in treatment response may be linked to genetics. This study will examine the effects of aspirin and clopidogrel in a population whose genes are well known in order to determine the role that genes play in treatment responses.
Evaluate the impact of systematic nursing orientations in the reduction of predicted cardiovascular risk in patients with coronary artery disease during four nursing visits for a 1-year period and compare to a group of patients submitted to conventional treatment.
Major sporting events may have adverse cardiovascular effects in subjects with coronary heart disease. We also hypothesized that the adverse cardiovascular effects of sporting events are a result of psychobiological processes including stress-induced hemodynamic changes, autonomic dysfunction and parasympathetic withdrawal, and inflammatory and prothrombotic responses, all of which may in turn promote myocardial ischemia.
ABSTRACT Although most primary healthcare practitioners recognize the important relationship among nutrition, physical activity and health, few incorporate either dietary or physical activity counseling into routine practice. AUGMENT will employ interactive technology to support effective patient life-style counseling during routine office visits. AUGMENT technology will automate the administration, collection, and analysis of dietary and physical activity questionnaires, and it will guide counseling and present intervention resources and strategies tailored to the patient's unique needs. Using tablet computers, wireless LANs, and inexpensive Internet communications, AUGMENT will have advantages over existing tools: 1.) Lower usage costs (minimal office personal required), 2.) Ability to customize the system, and 3.) Real-time, comprehensive assessment. The AUGMENT system efficiently and relentlessly gathers important healthcare information (such as total fat, type of fat consumption; fruit and vegetable consumption; fiber and micronutrient intake; and energy output). This means patients are less likely to have their preventive needs overlooked by a busy practitioner. The assessment includes questions to determine the amount of effort the patient will commit to improved health. This will enable the physician to effectively guide the patient via targeted recommendations, obtainable goals, and a course of action that is both preventive and prescriptive; and to monitor progress. Patients who receive objective assessments of their healthcare practices and recommendations based on their own unique health history will be more likely to accept and act on the recommendations. The specific aims of the study are to: 1) Incorporate key elements of a previously developed prototype tool into a dietary and physical activity risk assessment system, 2) Create a provider training tool to build proficiency in using AUGMENT for counseling to reduce disease risk. 3) Validate the AUGMENT dietary and physical activity assessments using dietary recalls and accelerometer data, 4) Complete a process evaluation of the AUGMENT program by using it in interventions managed by six physicians with at least 240 patients, and 5) Survey participating providers and patients to assess acceptability of AUGMENT within a clinical setting.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the cardioprotective effects of a short term infusion of glucose-insulin-potassium (GIK) during heart surgery.
This is a study of the effects of 3 oz almonds added daily to a National Cholesterol Education Program Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) diet in improving endothelial function in patients with Coronary Artery Disease. The study seeks to determine if these effects are mediated via an increase in Nitric Oxide synthesis and reductions in dyslipidemia and systemic inflammation. Vascular reactivity will be assessed via flow mediated dilation with endothelium-independent and hyperemic flow measured in the right brachial artery by non-invasive 2-dimensional and Doppler ultrasound. Serum will be collected and analyzed for biomarkers of dyslipidemia, inflammation, endothelial function, vascular reactivity and oxidative stress.
The study will evaluate the impact of an internet based telemedicine system on cardiovascular risk profile of underserved patient populations. It is our hypothesis that a treatment plan and frequent communication via an internet based Telemedicine system will improve the cardiovascular risk profile of underserved patient populations at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Our primary endpoint is a reduction over one year in the 10-year CVD risk score (ATP III risk model).
The length of tracheal intubation may affect the subsequent ventilation with a laryngeal mask during percutaneous tracheostomy.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a non-invasive, unique nuclear imaging technique that allows the evaluation of blood flow in the heart and provides information about the cell activity of specific organs such as the heart and brain. It also provides useful information for the management of patients with poor pumping function of the heart, heart failure, and coronary artery disease. A cardiac viability imaging looks at how the heart uses glucose (sugar) The imaging process determines areas of the heart that are alive (viable - using sugar) versus areas of the heart that are scar tissue (non-viable). F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is the radioactive substance used to determine myocardial viability. This nuclear imaging technique has been shown to be useful in directing management for patient care. The Ministry of Health recognizes the clinical utility of FDG PET imaging for myocardial viability assessment and other cancer indications. Optimizing the potential advantages of FDG PET in Ontario, will require characterization of the patient population, referral patterns, upstream and downstream resource utilization and patient outcomes. Therefore, registry studies are being undertaken to provide specific information about the utility of PET in these clinical situations in Ontario. The proposed registry will facilitate monitoring of the implementation of this limited technology and allow continued evaluation of practice patterns and outcomes. The University of Ottawa Heart Institute is the coordinating centre for this project with PET centres in London, Hamilton and Toronto also participating. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utility of FDG PET viability imaging in the decision making process for patients with poor left ventricular function who may be candidates for revascularization and to study the downstream effect of the clinical management decisions. Patients meeting specific inclusion criteria will be eligible for this study.
A robust release of endothelin-1-1 (ET) with subsequent ETA subtype receptor (ET-AR) activation occurs in patients following cardiac surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Increased ET-AR activation has been identified in patients with poor left ventricular (LV) function (reduced ejection fraction; EF). Accordingly, this study tested the hypothesis that a selective ET-AR antagonist (ET-ARA) administered peri-operatively would favorably affect post-CPB hemodynamic profiles in patients with a pre-existing poor LVEF.