View clinical trials related to Cardiomyopathy.
Filter by:The overall purpose of this study is to determine if weight loss is beneficial for obese patients with diastolic heart failure.
Patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy may continue to experience persistent chest pain and shortness of breath despite conventional medical therapy and/or revascularization. The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of taking Ranexa versus placebo in patients with ischemic (due to blockages) cardiomyopathy treated with optimal conventional medical therapy and/or percutaneous revascularization.
Rationale: B type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a hormone released from cardiomyocytes in response to myocyte stretching and serves as a reliable biomarker in the diagnosis of cardiac dysfunction and heart failure. Recent observations speak for a distinct connection between chronic heart failure and diabetes mellitus. Objective: The study was set out to investigate the role of BNP on parameters of glucose metabolism in a placebo controlled cross-over study in healthy volunteers. Methods and Results: Ten participants (25±1 years; BMI 23±1 kg/m2; fasting glucose 83±2 mg/dL) received either placebo or 3 pmol/kg/min BNP 32 intravenously for 4h. One hour after beginning the BNP/placebo infusion, a 3h intravenous glucose tolerance test (0.33 g/kg glucose + 0.03 U/kg insulin at 20 min) was performed and plasma glucose, insulin and C peptide were frequently measured. BNP increased the initial glucose distribution volume (13±1 %BW vs. 11±1, P<0.002), leading to an overall reduction of glucose concentration (P<0.001) especially during the initial 20 min of the test (P=0.001), accompanied by a reduction of the initial C peptide levels (4.3±0.4 ng/mL vs. 4.9±0.3, P=0.015). BNP had no impact on beta cell function, insulin clearance or insulin sensitivity. Discussion: Intravenous administration of BNP increases glucose initial distribution volume and lowers plasma glucose concentrations after a glucose load without affecting beta cell function or insulin sensitivity what speaks for the concept that BNP is not diabetogenic, but improves the metabolic status in patients with heart failure. This opens new questions regarding BNP induced differences in glucose availability and signalling in several organs/tissues.
Diagnosis of diabetic cardiomyopathy is then retained, supposing a change in the coronary microcirculation linked to an endothelial dysfunction. Abnormalities of the myocardial metabolism is frequently associated. It is regrettably about a hypothesis difficult to verify with current medical techniques.This deficiency being not only harmful to the diagnosis, but also to the assessment of the efficiency of the medical treatment on the myocardial metabolism and the endothelial function. Techniques of nuclear magnetic resonance offer interesting perspectives.
The WiCS-LV system is an alternative means to providing left ventricular stimulation for Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and performance of the WiCS-LV System in patients with indications for CRT.
The overall hypothesis of this application is that the improvement in LV ejection performance following treatment with betablockers is due, at least in part, to improvement in intrinsic myocardial contractility.
Background: - Research has shown that certain proteins in cells may be linked to higher risks of developing inflammations, tumors, and other medical problems. By examining how the blood cells of healthy volunteers respond to environmental exposures, researchers hope to better understand the relationship of genes, environmental factors, and human diseases. Objectives: - To examine how specific genes and proteins in blood cells respond to environmental exposures. Eligibility: - Healthy volunteers between 18 and 45 years of age. Design: - The study will involve one visit of 45 to 60 minutes. - Participants will be screened with a brief physical examination and finger stick to determine if they are eligible to donate blood for the study, and will complete a questionnaire about any medications or other drugs (e.g., cigarettes) they may be taking. - Participants will provide a blood sample for research purposes.
Background: - Researchers are interested in studying individuals who have known or suspected metabolic or genetic diseases that put them at a high risk for heart diseases or diseases of their blood vessels. To improve the results of the study, both affected and nonaffected individuals will be asked to provide blood and other samples and will undergo tests to evaluate heart and lung function. Nonaffected individuals will include relatives of affected individuals and healthy nonrelated volunteers. Objectives: - To study individuals who have or are at risk for cardiovascular diseases, as well as their unaffected relatives and healthy volunteers. Eligibility: - Individuals between 1 and 100 years of age. Participants may be healthy volunteers, individuals with cardiovascular diseases, or unaffected relatives of individuals with cardiovascular diseases. Design: - Participants will have some or all of the following tests, as directed by the study researchers: - Photography of the face and full body - Body measurements - Radiography, including chest or limb x-rays - Metabolic stress testing to study heart and muscle function - Echocardiography to study heart function - Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies, including cardiovascular MRI, angiography, and contrast MRI, to study heart function and performance - Computed tomography (CT) angiogram to obtain images of the heart and lungs - Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging to study possible fat infiltration of the heart - Six-minute walk test to study heart, lung, and muscle function and performance - Vascular ultrasound to study blood vessel walls - Blood, tissue, and other specimens will be collected for research and testing, and will be taken either as part of the clinical study or during surgical procedures. - Follow-up studies may be performed under separate research protocols.
The purpose of this study is to determine if the forehand location for sensor placement has less episodes of signal dropout than the finger sensor location. In addition, this study will evaluate two finger sensors, which utilize different technology to compare signal quality.
This blinded, controlled study will examine the impact of pomegranate polyphenol extract (POMx, from Pom Wonderful, LLC), 1000mg on cardiomyopathy in subjects with chronic renal insufficiency.