View clinical trials related to Myocardial Fibrosis.
Filter by: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.
Background: - INFUSE AMI is an ongoing clinical trial examining how patients with heart attacks are treated. The study's aim is to help determine the best way to treat patients with specific kinds of heart attacks caused by blood clots. - To evaluate the effect of the heart attack on the heart tissue and function, participants in the INFUSE-AMI study will have magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the heart at specific times after their heart attack. Objectives: - To perform cardiac MRI scans on patients who are participating in the INFUSE-AMI study. Eligibility: - Individuals at least 18 years of age who are enrolled in the INFUSE-AMI study. Design: - Participants will have an MRI scan of the heart about 5 days and between 23 and 44 days after their heart attack. The MRI scan at day 5 is optional. - Participants will provide a blood sample prior to the MRI scan. - During the scan, participants will be given a contrast drug to show the blood flow to and within the heart. An electrocardiogram will be used to monitor the heart during the procedure. - No other treatment will be provided in this protocol.
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common genetic cardiomyopathy and remains the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young people and an important cause of heart failure symptoms and death at any age. In HCM, pathological remodeling of the left ventricle involving myocardial fibrosis is likely a major contributor to cardiac dysfunction and also a nidus for the generation of ventricular arrhythmias. Serum markers of collagen turnover have been shown to reliably reflect the magnitude of myocardial fibrosis in a variety of cardiovascular diseases. In addition, aldosterone antagonist drugs have been shown to decrease fibrous tissue formation in the myocardium in certain pathologic cardiovascular states in which aldosterone production is increased. In HCM, aldosterone production is up-regulated and has been implicated in the formation of myocardial fibrosis. Therefore, the specific aims of this proposal are to: 1. assess serum markers of collagen turnover at baseline and correlate these findings with a variety of clinical and morphologic disease parameters 2. examine the effects of a 12-month treatment with the aldosterone antagonist spironolactone on magnitude of fibrosis as measured by serum markers of collagen turnover as well as changes in clinical and morphologic disease parameters. 3. explore the effects of a 12-month treatment with aldosterone antagonist spironolactone on heart failure status, diastolic function, arrhythmic burden, and total LV mass and quantity of fibrosis by CMR. The results of this proposal will offer important insights into the clinical significance of myocardial fibrosis in this primary genetic cardiomyopathy. The demonstration that spironolactone decreases fibrosis and improves clinical course would provide the rational for a larger multicenter clinical trial evaluating this novel therapy for improving clinical outcome in patients with HCM.