View clinical trials related to Ventricular Dysfunction, Left.
Filter by:The purpose of this research study is to evaluate the effects of cardiac hormone replacement with SQ (subcutaneous or under the skin) injection of BNP (brain natriuretic peptide, a hormone produced by the heart) on the pumping ability of the heart, kidney function and levels of different hormones in the blood in response to an intravenous salt solution.
The purpose is to study if HF treatment guided by NTproBNP in addition to clinical symptoms and signs is more effective than treatment guided by clinical symptoms and signs alone in patients with HF and left ventricular systolic dysfunction
Rationale: Patients with severe ventricular dysfunction and coronary disease have high morbidity and mortality. They may benefit from revascularization, but have significant peri-operative morbidity and mortality. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) can detect viable myocardium that may recover from revascularization in such patients. It is unclear whether use of FDG PET in this population is improves outcome or is cost-effective. Objectives: The principal aim is to determine whether FDG PET-guided therapy is effective versus standard care. Secondary objectives are to determine whether FDG PET-guided therapy improves LV function, quality of life and is good value for money versus standard care.
This study will explore which characteristics of patients with heart failure will likely predict improvement after cardiac resynchronization (CRT), implantation of a pacemaker to improve heart function. In spite of major medical advances, about 30% to 40% of patients with heart failure do not respond to CRT, and the reasons are not well understood. This study will involve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), electrocardiogram (ECG), and echocardiography techniques to let researchers examine what may influence response to CRT. Patients ages 18 and older with a left ventricular disorder and who are not pregnant or breastfeeding may be eligible for this study. Initial evaluation will take 5 to 6 hours. A blood sample of about 2 tablespoons will be collected, and several procedures will be performed. MRI uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to obtain images of body organs and tissues. For that procedure, patients will lie on a table that slides into the enclosed tunnel of the scanner and be asked to lie still. They will be in the scanner for 30 to 90 minutes. As the scanner takes pictures, patients will hear knocking sounds, and they may be asked to hold their breath intermittently for 5 to 20 seconds. During part of the scan, a drug called gadolinium will be given intravenously (IV), to make the heart easier to see. Patients will be able to communicate with the MRI staff at all times during the scan. At any time, patients may ask to be moved out of the machine. Patients having metal in their body that interferes with the MRI scanner should not have this test. During the procedure, an ECG machine will monitor the heart, through wires connected to pads on the skin. Patients will have an echocardiogram, in which sound waves look at the heart. A small handheld probe will touch the chest and abdomen, and an IV tube may be inserted to inject a contrast drug to improve the quality of heart images. Patients will have a cardiopulmonary stress test (treadmill test) and a 6-minute walk test, both before pacemaker implantation and then 6 months afterward. Also before and after pacemaker implantation, patients will complete the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire, regarding the impact of heart failure on patients' lives. The follow-up visit will take 3 to 4 hours.
Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a medical condition that is due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD). LVSD is a decreased ability of the heart to pump blood forward. There are 5 million people in the United States that have CHF and 52,828 new cases are diagnosed annually. There are 995,000 hospital visits and 52,828 deaths annually due to CHF. Previous studies have shown that people with this condition are at a higher risk for complications immediately after any type of heart surgery than are normal individuals. This includes increased dependence on medications and devices to improve the pumping function of the heart and blood pressure. Additionally, they also have longer lengths of hospital stay and higher rates of death compared to normal individuals. Some patients with LVSD not only have a decreased pumping ability of the heart, they also have an inefficient pumping function. These patients have been shown to benefit from a device therapy known as biventricular pacing. Biventricular pacing involves simultaneously electrically stimulating the two major pumping chambers of the heart known as ventricles using a pacemaker and wires. This causes a more coordinated contraction of the heart chambers resulting in improvement in the pumping ability of the heart and blood pressure. Studies have confirmed that in these patients, implantation of a biventricular pacemaker improves patients' symptoms and quality of life as well as decreasing a need for future hospitalizations. Whether biventricular pacing in patients with LVSD improves patient outcomes after heart surgery has not been investigated. Some patients temporarily develop slow heart rates after cardiovascular surgery. These slow heart rates can cause a decrease in the blood pumped from the heart and result in low blood pressures. Therefore, all patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery, regardless of left ventricular function, receive temporary pacing wires that are placed on one of the ventricles during the surgery. Temporary pacing will result in an increase in heart rate and improvement in the amount of blood pumped by the heart and in blood pressure. The placement of these wires is precautionary as only a few patients need to be paced for slow heart rates. Once patients are felt to no longer require them, the wires are easily removed. The purpose of this study is to determine whether biventricular pacing immediately after heart surgery in patients with LVSD will improve in-hospital outcomes. Patients that are scheduled for heart surgery and meet the inclusion criteria will be approached for consent to participate in this study. Once consented, they will be randomized to one of three treatment arms: usual care, RV pacing (single ventricle pacing), or biventricular pacing. Randomization is a process similar to picking numbers out of a hat. The patients will then undergo surgery as scheduled. During the surgery, the patients will receive the temporary pacing wires on both ventricles instead of one. Immediately after surgery, the patients will receive either usual care, RV pacing, or biventricular pacing depending upon the treatment arm that they were randomized to. The pacing wires will be removed as soon as the patients become stable as per routine. The clinical, operative, and in-hospital characteristics of these patients will be recorded on specialized forms. The characteristics of those that received biventricular pacing will be compared to those that had RV or no pacing to see whether there was any benefit to this mode of therapy.
The purpose of this study is to characterize current management of patients with either heart failure or prior myocardial infarction and left ventricular dysfunction and to assess the effect of education, specific clinical guidelines, reminder systems, comprehensive disease state management tools, benchmarked quality reports, and academic detailing on the use of evidence-based heart failure therapies in cardiology practices. This study is a quality improvement initiative that is being conducted through review of patient records.
The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of rosiglitazone treatment on cardiac function compared with metformin
The purpose of this study is to compare dosing compliance between study patients taking controlled release carvedilol once a day, and study patients taking immediate release carvedilol (Coreg) twice a day.
Heart failure is a progressive disease that decreases the pumping action of the heart. This may cause a backup of fluid in the heart and may result in heart beat changes. When there are changes in the heart beat sometimes an implantable heart device is used to control the rate and rhythm of the heart beat. The purpose of the REVERSE clinical trial is to determine whether pacing in both the left and right ventricles using Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) can help slow the progression of heart failure in people who have mild or previous symptoms and poor heart pumping function. This kind of therapy has previously been shown to reduce symptoms and improve exercise capacity in people with more advanced forms of heart failure.
The study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of intravenous infusion of carperitide using pressure measurements inside the heart and great vessels and measuring carperitide concentration in the blood.