110 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
The purpose of this study is to compare the clinical benefits of CoQ10 and D-ribose taken by patients who have diastolic heart failure, or heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).
Peri-menopausal women will be randomized to hormone replacement therapy or placebo for 12 weeks to determine if markers of systolic and diastolic function change by echocardiography as well as laboratory markers of heart failure, including b-type natriuretic peptide (BNP).
Heart failure is a major health concern and is the leading cause of hospitalization among elderly Americans. Currently 5.7 million Americans are estimated to have heart failure and the estimated direct and indirect costs of treating heart failure are approximately $37.2 billion. Approximately 40% of those diagnosed with heart failure will have heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF). These individuals have significant restrictions in their ability to carry out activities of daily living. Exercise training has been established as adjuvant therapy in heart failure. Although exercise training guidelines for treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFREF) are well established, no consensus exercise guidelines exist for management of HFPEF. Aerobic and cardiovascular adaptations are generally greater after high-intensity exercise training; interval-type exercise facilitates this type of training because it allows for rest periods that make it possible for patients with heart failure to perform short (e.g., 1-4 minutes) work periods at intensities that are higher than would be possible during continuous exercise. High-intensity aerobic interval training presents a unique, yet untested, therapeutic modality for the exercise training of patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Pilot testing is warranted, results of which may have important implications for reducing cardiovascular risk, increasing short- and long-term quality of life and survival, and reducing healthcare costs in this patient population. The investigators primary specific aim is to determine the efficacy of a novel, high-intensity aerobic interval exercise training program for improving VO2peak (peak oxygen uptake), endothelial function, and arterial stiffness in patients with HFPEF. The investigators secondary aim is to determine whether the vascular changes are correlated with the changes in VO2peak.
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), is one of the leading causes of pulmonary hypertension (PH). Despite the severity of this disease, no established treatments exist for this class of PH. Nebivolol is a drug used in high blood pressure and heart failure, but not used in patients with PH. Due to some additional properties it possesses, the investigators believe nebivolol will improve disease severity in patients with PH associated with HFpEF. The hypothesis of this research study is that nebivolol improves PH severity in patients with HFpEF, as measured by hemodynamic and clinical parameters.
The purpose of this study is to examine how dietary changes affect the heart and blood vessels in patients with hypertension (high blod pressure) who have a condition called 'heart failure with preserved ejection fraction" (HFPEF). This condition is also known as "diastolic heart failure" or "heart failure with normal ejection fraction", and occurs even though the heart's pumping function is normal.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of ranolazine in the prevention of recurrent atrial fibrillation in post-cardioversion patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction.
Diastolic heart failure (also known as "heart failure with normal ejection fraction" or "heart failure with preserved ejection fraction") occurs even though the heart muscle's pumping function is normal. In many cases diastolic heart failure is related to stiffening of the heart and blood vessels in people who have high blood pressure. Current guidelines suggest that patients should limit the salt content of their diet, as too much salty food can cause fluid retention and other problems in diastolic heart failure. Studies in animals with diastolic heart failure suggest that antioxidant chemicals found in grapes can block some of the harmful effects of salty diets. Because it is often difficult for patients with diastolic heart failure to maintain a low salt diet, the investigators are researching the effects of the antioxidant properties of grape seed extract, a natural supplement made from grape seeds. The investigators hypothesize that supplementing the diet with grape seed extract (GSE) can decrease the levels of harmful chemicals and improve heart and blood vessel function in patients with diastolic heart failure and a history of high blood pressure. The University of Michigan research group plans to enroll 25 patients with a history of high blood pressure and diastolic heart failure in a research study. The study will assess the effects of GSE on hormones and other chemicals that can cause heart and blood vessel damage. The investigators will also study the effects of GSE on the ability of the blood vessels and heart muscles to relax at the proper time and speed. Finally, the investigators will observe how GSE affects participants' overall ability to exercise, quality of life, and blood pressure control. Study participants will be randomly assigned to take either GSE or placebo (looks like but does not contain GSE) capsules twice a day for six weeks. After a two-week break, all subjects will cross over to the opposite group of capsules for an additional six-week period. At the start of the study and at the end of each six-week time period study participants will have non-invasive heart and blood vessel testing, blood work and urine tests, and blood pressure monitoring.
Diastolic heart failure is now being recognized as a key form of heart failure in older people. The focus of this research is to study ways to improve and maintain physical activity and functioning. This knowledge may improve the health and well-being in people with diastolic heart failure.
The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of weight loss via hypocaloric diet, aerobic exercise training, combined hypocaloric diet and exercise training, and attention control in patients with heart failure and a normal ejection fraction (HFNEF) and body mass index greater than or equal to 30.
Heart failure with preserved systolic function (HF-PSF, or 'diastolic heart failure') accounts for half of hospitalizations for heart failure in patients over the age of 65. Most HF-PSF patients have systemic hypertension (HTN), and characteristic HTN-induced cardiovascular changes contribute to HF-PSF. However, it is unclear why most patients with HTN never develop HF-PSF or which specific aspects of HTN predispose to HF-PSF. In the Dahl S rat, the primary animal model of HF-PSF, high dietary sodium intake suppresses the systemic renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, but upregulates renal and cardiac renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system by inducing oxidative stress. In humans, the magnitude of blood pressure response to sodium ingestion and depletion can categorize subjects as "salt-resistant" and "salt-sensitive." Human salt sensitivity is associated with structural and loading conditions that increase the risk for HF-PSF, including HTN, ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction, arterial stiffening, and increased plasma volume. High dietary sodium intake induces oxidative stress in salt-sensitive humans. In humans with HTN and normal ventricular systolic function that do not have heart failure, increased oxidative stress predicts impaired exercise capacity, ventricular hypertrophy, diastolic dysfunction, arterial stiffening, and vascular endothelial dysfunction. The investigators have proposed that "salt sensitivity" and the accompanying oxidative stress on the typical high-sodium Western diet may contribute to the initiation and progression of HF-PSF. In patients with HF-PSF, the investigators will relate dietary changes to biochemical and cardiovascular functional measures. The investigators will study subjects on ad-lib diet and and following three weeks of rigorous dietary modification with the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH)/sodium-restricted diet (SRD). This diet is richer in natural antioxidants and lower in sodium than the usual American diet. The DASH/SRD is recommended to lower blood pressure in patients with HTN, and is particularly effective in elderly, obese, and salt-sensitive hypertensives. Dietary sodium restriction is recommended for all HF patients including those with HF-PSF. The investigators hypothesize that the DASH/SRD will have favorable effects on oxidative stress, ventricular and vascular function, and blood pressure control in patients with hypertensive HF-PSF.
This is a randomized study of ambrisentan that will last 16 weeks. The study will include patients with diastolic heart failure and pulmonary hypertension. Patients will be randomized (1:1) to ambrisentan or placebo. The ambrisentan or matching placebo will be started at 2.5 mg by mouth daily and increased to 5mg and then 10mg daily, if tolerated. Patients will be seen at least monthly for 16 weeks. Adverse reactions will be reviewed and the required monthly laboratory tests (liver function testing and pregnancy testing, if applicable), will be performed. Patients will also complete an exercise test (six minute walk distance) and a quality of life survey at the baseline, week 4 and week 16 visit. An echocardiogram and a right heart catheterization and left ventricular end diastolic pressure measurement will be performed at the 16 week visit. The primary end-point is safety, and secondary end-points include the catheterization results, echocardiogram results, the walk distance and the quality of life survey. The expected completion of the study is 18 months from initiation. Ambrisentan is an FDA approved drug for PAH, but not for CHF.
People with type 2 diabetes experience heart failure more often than do people without diabetes. This may be due to increased stiffness in the heart as a result of diabetes. This study will examine whether exenatide, a medication used to treat diabetes, may have beneficial effects on the heart in people with type 2 diabetes and heart failure.
This study is being conducted to compare the effects that 2 different combinations of heart failure medications have on the levels of certain blood markers which cause and/or worsen heart failure. Additionally, the investigators will investigate any differences that may exist between Hispanics and Non-Hispanics. The investigators hope to find that Hispanic Americans will have a greater response to this new regimen compared to non-Hispanic Americans.
Diastolic heart failure (DHF), which affects older individuals and women at a disproportionate rate, is a condition that can lead to shortness of breath and fluid build-up in the lungs. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of the medication sildenafil at improving exercise ability and health outcomes in people with DHF.
This study is being done to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of alagebrium in subjects diagnosed with diastolic heart failure. The primary assessment for effectiveness is the assessment of exercise tolerance.
The study is designed to define the underlying vascular abnormalities present in patients with diastolic heart failure and test the effect of a therapy aimed at vascular abnormalities. This study is designed to investigate the effects of therapy with atorvastatin in subjects with diastolic heart failure to improve abnormalities of vascular and myocardial structure and function, with particular emphasis on arterial stiffness and endothelial dysfunction.
The aim of this study was to determine whether long-term (≥ 6 months at the target dose) blockade of ETA receptors using sitaxsentan showed functional benefit in subjects with chronic Heart Failure and an Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction ≥50%.
The principle aim is to determine the efficacy of eplerenone in patients with diastolic heart failure to reverse cardiac remodeling and to improve diastolic function.
The purpose of the study is to collect information about the potential benefit and safety of low dose spironolactone for a patient with diastolic heart failure (DHF) and to determine whether spironolactone can cause the patient's condition to improve.
1. Research question: What is the response of the heart's pumping function to changes in heart chamber pressures? 2. Experimental design: Patients undergoing routine cardiac catheterization will be studied. A thermodilution pulmonary artery catheter will be inserted through a venous sheath and threaded into the pulmonary artery. After several minutes of quiet rest, baseline hemodynamics will be obtained, including a determination of cardiac output using thermodilution techniques and 30 seconds of pressure recordings from the left ventricle and proximal aorta. In addition, a brief echocardiogram will be performed, to determine ejection fraction and indices of diastolic filling. Finally, arterial tonometry will be obtained in quick succession from the brachial, radial, femoral, and carotid arteries. Following the collection of baseline data, a bolus and infusion of nesiritide will be started. After 10 minutes of nesiritide infusion, with the drug still infusing, a full set of invasive hemodynamics will again be obtained, as well as brief echocardiographic and arterial tonometry examinations.
The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether eplerenone has a beneficial effect on improving exercise ability in patients with diastolic heart failure.
The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that treatment with oral ALT-711 twice daily for 16 weeks will improve aortic distensibility, exercise tolerance, and quality of life in elderly patients with isolated diastolic heart failure (DHF), and that the improvements in exercise tolerance will correlate with the improvements in aortic distensibility.
There is an increased risk of diastolic heart failure in post menopausal women. Estrogen plays a positive role in regulating molecular pathways in heart remodeling. Such pathways may work through purinergic signaling and its downstream effects on the heart's mitochondrial metabolism and angiogenic response to stress. Loss of estrogen functionality in post menopausal women may account for the increased risk of diastolic heart failure. The investigators will explore said pathways using cardiac tissue obtained from patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
This is a prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial in which participants with NYHA class II or III and symptomatic Heart Failure with reduced Ejection Fraction (HFrEF) (Ejection Fraction (EF) ≤ 45%) will be assigned to one of two treatment groups: standard of care or breathing therapy.
As we live longer our population experiencing heart failure (HF) continues to grow consuming an increasing percent of healthcare dollars. Systolic heart failure or pump failure is easy to recognize and measure and is expressed as ejection fraction. Diastolic heart failure (DHF) or failure to fill adequately is much more difficult to quantify with no single measure or number being used to express the severity instead groupings are used with normal and Grade I, II or Grade III to classify with Grade III being the direst. Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction (HFrEF) and Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF) are used to identify the primary clinical presentation of HF but do not adequately describe the combined effect often presenting within the same subject. It is estimated 35 to 50% of those with HFrEF, having Left Ventricle Ejection Fraction (LVEF) \< 50%, and 50 to 70% of those with HFpEF, having ejection fraction ≥ 50%, also have moderate to severe diastolic dysfunction (DD). The purpose of this study is two fold. The first is to determine if the rate of change measured from the left ventricular inflow inspiratory phase Doppler waveform provides insight into a cause of diastolic heart failure by comparing echocardiographic data points obtained prior to and immediately following optimization of a bi-ventricular pacemaker. This HF population requires an ejection fraction of 35 percent or lower to qualify for the device. These echocardiograms have been previously completed and will be reanalyzed. The second purpose is to determine if relationships between different features of a LV volume curve can be used to generate a single number to describe global diastolic function using the same echocardiograms from the pacemaker group. Results will be compared to a small group of healthy normal participants as a control for validation.
Peripheral blood and blood following a pulmonary wedge pressure will be obtained from patients undergoing right heart catheterizations.
According to the most recent information released by the American Heart Association, heart failure affects 5.8 million Americans and over 23 million people worldwide. In particular, diastolic heart failure (DHF) has emerged in approximately half of those suffering from heart disease and has become a major public health problem for many reasons, including the complexity of the disease, lack of effective drugs/therapies, requirement of invasive tests to diagnose and monitor DHF, and the absence of a suitable scientific model to study the disease. Scientists and physicians alike still do not fully understand what happens to the muscles in the heart (myocardium) patients who present with diastolic dysfunction or DHF. Therefore, the medical field is in need of an accurate model that can evaluate how diastolic dysfunction leads to heart failure and what happens at a cellular level as this disease emerges and progresses.
This study is to look at the differences between people who have evidence of abnormal heart relaxation (diastolic dysfunction) on sound wave pictures of the heart (an echocardiogram) compared to those who do not. If you have abnormal relaxation, it can be a cause of shortness of breath or can be present without knowing about it. A condition known as oxidative stress mayb e associated with this abnormal relaxation. This condition occurs when abnormal oxygen injures heart cells. We would like to learn if patients with abnormal relaxation have increased oxidative stress.
The purpose of this study is to examine whether spironolactone will improve exercise tolerance and quality of life in elderly patients with heart failure preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF).
Our local IRB approved clinical studies seeking proof of principle for the hypothesis that SFN can be safely administered to humans at doses sufficient to protect age-associated cardiac dysfunctions. Beneficial effects of SFN-therapy will be assessed by Pre- and post-intervention echocardiography, and exercise endurance at 0 and 24 weeks. Peripheral blood cells from treated and control subjects will be compared for mitochondrial respiratory function, oxidative damage, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and expression of antioxidant \& anti-electrophile genes.