View clinical trials related to Congestive Heart Failure.
Filter by:In decompensation of heart failure, it may occur low cardiac output. For patients in this situation, the use of inotropic may be necessary. Prolonged intravenous infusion of inotropic agents can lead to phlebitis in peripherally venous access. On the other hand, central venous access presents complications inherent in the procedure. The peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) may be an option in this situation. The present research project is a randomized clinical trial to evaluate the incidence of phlebitis by using the PICC in comparison to the peripheral venous access. The criteria for inclusion are: advanced congestive heart failure, in use of intravenous inotropic; platelets > 50.000 mm3 and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 0.45. Patients will be randomized to receive the PICC or keep the peripheral venous access. The main outcome will be the occurrence of phlebitis. The sample size will be of 40 patients for each group (PICC and control). The data will be analyzed by logistic regression. Will be considered significant P 0.05.
The aims of the present study are to measure dynamic changes over time in the plasma level of SDF-1α in patients with confirmed diagnoses of AMI, AF and CHF and in so doing: 1. Monitor the plasma level of SDF-1α at the diagnosis, during and after the long term treatment of AMI, AF and CHF. The SDF-1α level of patients is expected to decrease during treatment of the aforementioned conditions. 2. Correlate the plasma level of SDF-1α in relation to clinical, biochemical characteristics of Acute Myocardial Infarction(AMI), Atrial Fibrillation(AF) and Congestive Heart Failure (CHF). In so doing, the investigators expect that SDF-1α will correlate with the severity of heart disease. 3. Study the dynamic of SDF-1α pertaining to its property as prognostic indicator for the long term follow up risk of readmission and mortality of patients diagnosed with AMI, AF or CHF.
The primary objective is to measure the association between extracellular RNA (ex-RNA) levels in plasma in patients receiving aggressive outpatient therapy for CHF with (1) cardiac remodeling and (2) cardiovascular events. The investigators will follow patients during standard medical therapy for CHF to assess changes in ex-RNA levels in the plasma, and how these are associated with cardiac remodeling (by cardiac imaging) and outcomes.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) are two common heart conditions that are encountered with an increase in death and suffering. When both these two conditions occur in a patient, the patient's prognosis is poor with a reduced quality of life and impaired heart function. These patients have enlarged hearts, specifically the left ventricle (major pumping chamber), which impairs the heart's pumping capacity, leading to symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath from any type of exertion, and swelling, usually of the feet and ankles. In these HF patients who are in AF all of the time, who would otherwise be a suitable candidate for an implantable defibrillator to prevent sudden cardiac death, we would like to determine whether adding pacing of both ventricles will reduce heart size (left ventricular end systolic volume index LVESVi) as measured by ultrasound, which can improve its function and help the heart pump more efficiently. Other studies have shown that adding pacing to both ventricles is of benefit in HF patients with mild to moderate symptoms and have a regular heart rhythm. The Investigators now want to explore if this therapy will benefit those patients with a permanent irregular heart rhythm (AF).
Permanent pacemakers are a common treatment for slow heart beats. In the UK 300,000 people have a pacemaker, and each year another 36,000 receive them. All of these patients are usually seen yearly to have their device checked. However, pacemaker technology is now very reliable, batteries last well over 5 years, and many patients require their pacemaker only occasionally as a back-up. Each visit costs around £200 such that pacemaker follow-up cost the NHS around £50million per year. Most visits involve checking the battery and the leads which, in the absence of symptoms might be unnecessary. Pacemaker patients are at risk of developing other problems including heart failure which puts them at higher risk of hospitalisation and death. For those under follow-up, no mechanism exists to identify whether they might have heart failure, and for those receiving new implants, it is unclear which will go on to develop heart failure. Also, whether optimal heart failure treatment with a multidisciplinary team reduces the chances that they will be hospitalised is also unproven. Our study therefore has three main aims: 1) based on pacing indications and patient factors, to identify which patients are likely to develop complications and therefore which patients could be seen less frequently; 2) to validate and refine a simple risk score to help identify which patients in pacing clinic should undergo screening for heart failure; and 3) to establish whether such screening and subsequent optimisation of those with heart failure is clinically and cost-effective for reducing hospitalisation and death.
It is recognized that endothelial dysfunction is a major factor contributing to the atherogenic process. Abnormal function of the endothelium is detectable prior to obvious intimal lesions in patients with risk factors for atherosclerosis. Endothelial dysfunction is a systemic disorder and a key variable in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and its complications. Measurement of peripheral vasodilator response with fingertip peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT) technology (EndoPAT; Itamar Medical, Caesarea, Israel) is emerging as a useful method for assessing vascular function. EndoPAT may be a potential valid test increasing the accuracy, sensitivity and specificity for detection of subjects to chest pain unit (CPU) with chest pain but no obvious coronary artery disease (CAD). This is a relatively fast non-invasive bedside test, relatively low-cost and has no side effects. Therefore, the primary objective of the study is to test the hypothesis that abnormal endothelial function as assessed by EndoPAT testing will increase the prediction of the short (in-hospital) and long-term (1-year) outcome of patients presenting to the chest pain unit.
The NECTAR-HF feasibility trial is designed to evaluate the application of right vagal nerve stimulation in heart failure patients with a New York Heart Association Class III, an ejection fraction equal to or less than 35 %, and a narrow QRS duration equal to or less than 130 ms.
The aim of this study is to identify patients with problem list gaps and intervene to correct these gaps by creating clinical decision support interventions that alert providers to likely problem list gaps and offer clinicians the opportunity to correct them. The investigators will randomize the clinics that will receive the intervention and formally evaluate the study after a period of 6 months for improved problem list completeness to determine the effectiveness of our intervention.
No clinical trial that has examined the role of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy in the prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) has provided outcome data for longer than a few years. The NHLBI sponsored and placebo-controlled Sudden Cardiac Death in heart Failure Trial (SCD-HeFT) conducted from 1997 to 2003 had the largest number of patients and the longest average follow-up at 45.5 months. This study changed the national reimbursement policy for ICD therapy and remains the reference point for all other ICD evaluations in patients with congestive heart failure from ischemic or non-ischemic systolic dysfunction. Despite the outcome, the role of ICD therapy in the management of patients with heart failure has been questioned because of four principal concerns: numbers needed to treat to save a life, lead integrity over time, the negative consequences of shock therapy, and the cost of therapy. The purpose of this trial is to track down the remaining patients for a one-time follow-up regarding key outcome data.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the functional outcomes of resynchronization management and to describe the patient psychosocial characteristics (depression ad anxiety) and associated outcomes with electrophysiologic device therapy for chronic congestive heart failure.