View clinical trials related to Heart Failure.
Filter by:Heart failure is a major health problem worldwide. Optimal treatment of this disabling and fatal condition may require functional characterization of the failed left ventricle (LV) and its interaction with the arterial system. Part of the physiological significance of the ventriculo-arterial coupling has been studied experimentally and clinically using the framework of the ratio of effective arterial elastance (Ea) to end-systolic elastance (Ees), with limited clinical applications. From central ascending aorta to terminal arterioles, every segment of the arterial tree contributes to the arterial loads that interact and impact LV performance in both systole and diastole, leads to atrial and ventricular remodeling and hypertrophy, and results in the development of heart failure. On the other hand, the ventricular systole is a complex coordination of multi-directional myocardial fibers involving longitudinal contraction, circumferential shortening, radial thickening, twist, and torsion, the so-called LV deformations. The purposes of the present study are to investigate the relationship between different components of hemodynamic load or arterial abnormalities and different components of LV myocardial deformations or regional LV function, the modulating effects of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) on the ventriculo-arterial coupling, and the therapeutic effects of aliskiren on the components of hemodynamic load and LV myocardial deformations and their couplings. The investigators will also investigate whether the ventriculo-arterial coupling, EPCs, and add-on therapy of aliskiren predict cardiovascular outcomes.
Aims: To test the hypothesis that Diastolic dysfunction severity correlates with adverse clinical outcome in patients with systolic heart failure.
The investigators hypothesize that chronic heart failure is associated with a general stem cell dysfunction, which translates into reduced paracrine function of adult stem cells from patients with chronic heart failure as compared to patients with preserved systolic function.
Aliskiren is a potent direct renin inhibitor and has been recently shown to have favorable neurohumoral effects in patients with heart failure (HF) Objective：To study the effects of add-on aliskiren treatment in patients with HF on components of arterial load, from central aorta to peripheral arterioles and biomarkers Methods：Patients with NYHA Class II to IV HF, who have been treated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) and beta-blocker are randomized to 6 months of treatment with placebo or aliskiren (150mg per day) treatment. Components of arterial load, from central aorta to peripheral arterioles as well as a wide-range of biomarkers, including inflammatory biomarkers, N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide, arterial remodeling markers (procollagen, matrix metalloproteinase) will be measured before, 2 months and 6 months after treatment. What is New or Innovative in this study? The importance of central hemodynamics and biomarker changes in patients with HF has been shown in observation studies. This is the first randomized control trial that examines comprehensively the effects of a direct rennin inhibitor on central hemodynamics and biomarkers in HF patients who are receiving standard heart failure therapy.
The purpose of the study is to compare the effects of conivaptan and diuretics on renal blood flow and neurohormones.
Mobilization of fluid from the legs with the Normatec pump in patients with right heart failure, may empty the "reservoir" in the legs from excessive fluid, enabling fluid overload to collect there rather than in the liver or in other third spaces. Thus, we hypothesize that patients will lose weight, feel better, look better, be less prone to infections in their legs and to congestion of the liver.
The purpose of this study is evaluation of expression of desmin in cardiomyocytes of patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Analysis of relationship between desmin expression and activities of mitochondrium and expression of ubiquitin.
1. To assess whether a correlation exist between the degree of pulmonary clearance of free radical positive white bloodcells and platelets and the degree of pulmonary congestion in congestive heart failure (CHF) patients 2. To asses whether cardiac resynchronization therapy improves pulmonary clearance of free radical positive white blood cells and platelets in CHF patients by alleviating pulmonary congestion 3. Interaction of oxidative stress with circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and presence of apoptotic endothelial (progenitor) cells
Our study is to investigate the effect of N-3 Fatty Acids for the prevention of atrial fibrillation in patients with acute heart failure or acute myocardial infarction
Background. Clinical benefits of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) have been clearly demonstrated in heart failure (HF) patients with severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and wide QRS at surface electrocardiogram. However, there is a growing evidence that QRS duration poorly predicts responses to CRT, and that ~30% of patients do not experience any benefit from CRT when pre-implant dyssynchrony is defined according to electrocardiographic criteria. A number of echocardiographic criteria have been proposed to assess mechanical LV dyssynchrony, but at present there is no consensus on their use to predict response to CRT. Study Design. The Italian Multicenter PROject on echo assessment of left VEntricular (IMPROVE) dyssynchrony study is a prospective, multicenter, observational study aimed to assess feasibility and predictive power of mechanical dyssynchrony assessed by echocardiography in consecutive consenting patients candidate to CRT by clinical and electrocardiographic criteria. IMPROVE will enroll 120 healthy subjects and 216 HF patients in 6 sites in Italy. CRT response criteria will be based on improvement in NYHA class and LV reverse remodeling evaluated by 3D-echocardiography. Enrollment is expected to conclude early 2009. Implications. CRT is today part of the therapeutic armamentarium for symptomatic HF patients refractory to medical therapy, with wide QRS complex and severe LV systolic dysfunction. The IMPROVE study has been designed to evaluate reference values of indexes of ultrasound mechanical dyssynchrony that have been proposed in the literature and compare their ability to predict response to CRT in HF patients.