View clinical trials related to Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to determine if a drug called atorvastatin will reduce the size and stiffness of the muscle in the left ventricle of the heart.
Compare data (structural and functional) obtained by transthoracic rest echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging (with gadolinium) in 30 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
The aim of this study is the identification of familial congenital arrhythmogenic disorders and their clinical follow-up.
This is a retrospective review of the data available on patients and their family members with HCM and prospective follow-up of this cohort for clinical outcome and diagnostic studies. Genetic samples are being examined in this cohort to determine whether certain to determine whether certain beta-AR polymorphisms as well as other common genetic polymorphisms are associated with different morphological features, such as LVH in patients with HCM and whether these polymorphisms influence the clinical course and outcome in patients with HCM. For that purpose, we will build a database with clinical information including serial echocardiographic measurements for patients with HCM that have regular follow up and test them for beta-AR polymorphisms as well as other common genetic polymorphisms and other known cardiac-related polymorphisms that can potentially contribute to the morphologic differences seen in patients with HCM.
This study will test the feasibility of a modified procedure for treating obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (OHC). Patients with OHC have a thickening of the heart muscle that obstructs blood flow out of the heart, causing breathlessness, chest pain, palpitations, tiredness, lightheadedness, and fainting. The current treatment for OHC is a procedure called alcohol septal ablation (also percutaneous transluminal septal ablation, or PTSA), which involves injecting a small amount of alcohol into a tiny artery that supplies the part of muscle causing blood flow obstruction. The success of PTSA is limited, however, by problems of heart anatomy and the ability to find the appropriate artery to inject. Modifying the procedure by injecting the alcohol through the wall of the lower right chamber of the heart may improve its safety and effectiveness. The new technique requires positioning a catheter (a flexible tube) into the appropriate area of the heart. This study will test the ability to accurately guide the catheter to that area. Patients with OHC 18 years of age and older who are scheduled to have a cardiac catheterization may be eligible for this study. At the end of the catheterization procedure, participants will undergo intra-cardiac echocardiographic imaging. For this test, one of the catheters placed in the femoral artery (at the top of the leg) for cardiac catheterization will be substituted for a larger one. Through this catheter, a special catheter will be introduced and advanced to the heart to provide images. This pilot feasibility study does not involve injection of alcohol.
This study will examine the effectiveness of the drug pirfenidone (Deskar) in improving heart function in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Stiffening of the heart muscle in patients with HCM impairs the heart's ability to relax and thus fill and empty properly. This can lead to heart failure, breathlessness and excessive fatigue. The heart's inability to relax may be due to scarring, or fibrosis, in the muscle wall. This study will test whether pirfenidone can reduce fibrosis, improve heart relaxation and reduce abnormal heart rhythms. Men and women 20 to 75 years old with HCM may be eligible for this study. Participants will undergo a physical examination, blood tests, and other tests and procedures, described below, to assess heart function. When the tests are completed, patients will be randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups. One group will take a pirfenidone capsule and the other will take a placebo (a look-alike pill with no active ingredient) twice a day with meals for 6 months. For the pirfenidone group, the dose of drug will be increased gradually from 400 to 800 milligrams. At the end of 6 months, all patients will repeat the physical examination and heart tests that were done before starting medication. These include: - Electrocardiogram (ECG) - electrodes are attached to the heart to record the heart's electrical activity, providing information on the heartbeat. - Echocardiogram - a probe held against the chest wall uses sound waves to produce images of the heart, providing information on the function of the heart chambers. - 24-hour Holter monitor - a 24-hour recording of the electrical activity of the heart monitors for abnormal heartbeats or conduction abnormalities. - Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - Radiowaves and a strong magnetic field are used to produce images of the heart, providing information on the thickness and movement of the heart muscle. - Radionuclide angiogram - a radioactive tracer is injected into a vein and a special camera is used to scan the heart, providing information on the beating motion of the heart. Scans are obtained at rest and after exercise. - Cardiac (heart) catheterization - a catheter (thin plastic tube) is inserted into a blood vessel in the groin and advanced to the heart to record pressures and take pictures inside the heart. - Electrophysiology study - a catheter is inserted into a blood vessel in the groin and advanced to the heart to record electrical activity, providing information on abnormal heart rhythms. This procedure is done at the time of the heart catheterization. - Cardiac biopsy - a catheter is inserted into a blood vessel in the groin and advanced to the heart to remove a small sample of heart muscle for microscopic examination. This procedure is done at the end of the heart catheterization.
A heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) causes abnormal thickening of the heart muscle, which obstructs the flow of blood out of the heart. The thickened muscle and the obstruction of blood flow are believed to cause chest discomfort, breathlessness, fainting, and a sensation of heart pounding. Treatment options for children with HCM include medicine, heart operation, and cardiac transplantation. However, there is no evidence that medicine prevents further thickening of heart muscle; operations carry the risk of death; and donor hearts are not always available. Several studies have shown that pacemaker treatment reduces the obstruction and improves heart complaints in patients with HCM. This study investigates further the efficacy of pacemaker treatment in children. Patients will have exercise tests after treatment with beta blocker and verapamil and will be eligible for the study if heart complaints or reduced exercise performance continue. A pacemaker that treats slow heart rhythms will be inserted. The patient will be sedated and local anesthesia will be administered to numb the area. The procedure takes about an hour. The study will last two years. Patients will be placed on one of two pacemaker programs for the first year and another the second year. At 3- and 6-month follow-up visits, a pacemaker check and echocardiogram will be performed. After 1 year, patients will be admitted to NIH for 2 to 3 days for exercise tests, echocardiogram, and cardiac catheterization. Also, the pacemaker will be changed to the second program. At 15- and 18-month follow-up visits, a pacemaker check and echocardiogram will be performed. After 2 years, patients will again be admitted for 2 to 3 days for exercise tests, echocardiogram, and cardiac catheterization. A pregnancy test will be given to females of child-bearing age before each cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology study. At the end of the study, the pacemaker will be set to the program that worked better. Risks of pacemaker insertion include lung collapse, infection, blood vessel damage, bleeding, heart attack, and death. Risks of cardiac catheterization include infection, bleeding, blood clots, abnormal heart rhythms, perforation of the heart, need for surgery, and death. However, the safety record for both these procedures at NIH has been excellent. The radiation exposure exceeds the NIH radiation guidelines for children, but this exposure in adults has not been associated with any definite adverse effects.
This study will compare two treatments: pacemaker implantation and percutaneous transluminal septal ablation (PTSA) for patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a condition in which the heart muscle thickens and obstructs the flow of blood out of the heart. The reduced blood flow can cause chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, tiredness, lightheadedness and fainting. Patients with HCM who cannot be helped by drug therapy may participate in the study. The standard treatment for such patients is septal myectomy, an operation in which the surgeon shaves the muscle obstructing the blood flow. Another treatment option is implantation of a type of pacemaker that causes the heart to contract in a certain way that reduces blood flow obstruction and improves symptoms. The pacemaker is implanted under local anesthesia and usually takes less than an hour. PTSA is an experimental treatment that may provide a third option. In PTSA, a thin tube (catheter) is inserted into the blood vessel that feeds the heart muscle causing the blood flow obstruction. A small amount of alcohol is injected through the catheter to destroy some of the muscle and relieve the obstruction. Candidates will have the following screening tests: chest X-ray, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, exercise tests, exercise radionuclide angiography, exercise thallium scintigraphy, Holter monitoring, cardiac catheterization, electrophysiology study, and coronary angiography. Participants will be assigned to one of the two treatments groups: pacemaker implantation or PTSA. Patients in the PTSA group will also have magnetic resonance imaging scans at the start of the study, 3 to 7 days after PTSA, and at the end of the study, in order to observe changes in the heart's shape. All patients will fill out a questionnaire answering questions about their quality of life. Patients' progress will be followed with monthly phone calls. In addition, various tests, such as exercise tests and echocardiography, will be done during repeat visits at three and six months to measure treatment results. Patients will again complete quality-of-life questionnaires at both of those visits.
The human heart is divided into four chambers. One of the four chambers, the left ventricle, is the chamber mainly responsible for pumping blood out of the heart into the circulation. There is an inherited condition affecting the heart, passed on through genetics, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). HCM causes the left ventricle to become abnormally enlarged (left ventricular hypertrophy LVH). Some patients with the abnormal genes that may cause HCM do not have the characteristic LVH. Approximately 20 - 40% of patients with the genetic abnormality (missense mutation of genes encoding for sarcomeric protein) actually have an enlarged left ventricle. Because of this, researchers believe there may be other factors, along with the genetic abnormality that contribute to the development of HCM. Researchers are interested in learning more about several factors they suspect may play a role in the development of HCM. Specifically, researchers plan to study levels of a hormone and the protein it attaches to, which may contribute to the development of an abnormally enlarged heart. Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP) work together with growth hormone (GH) in the development and maturation of many organ systems. Previous studies have suggested that these hormones affect the development and function of the heart. Patients participating in this study will undergo a variety of tests including collection of blood samples, echocardiogram of the heart, treadmill exercise test, and continuous electrical monitoring of heart activity (Holter monitor).
Genetically inherited heart diseases like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) are conditions affecting the heart passed on to family members by abnormalities in genetic information. These conditions are responsible for many heart related deaths and illnesses. Presently, there are several research studies being conducted in order to improve the understanding of disease processes and symptoms associated with genetically inherited heart diseases. This study is designed to determine the eligibility of patients diagnosed with or suspected to have inherited heart disease to participate in these research studies.