4 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
This study will collect clinical, echocardiographic, nuclear imaging and hemodynamic data in a group of patients with end stage ischemic cardiomyopathy undergoing left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation to investigate the incidence of recovery of myocardial function when supported with LVADs, and to study the association between hibernating myocardium and myocardial recovery in this population.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether the use application of low frequency ultrasound, administered by the Timi3 ultrasound device, increases myocardial blood flow to the heart, in subjects with reduced myocardial blood flow at rest (hibernating myocardium). The primary endpoint of the trial is to assess the increase in myocardial blood flow from baseline to post Timi3 Ultrasound treatment in a hypoperfused region of myocardium. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging will be used to noninvasively evaluate cardiac blood flow. The hypothesis is that ultrasound increases blood flow in hibernating myocardium.
The hypothesis of PAREPET is that hibernating myocardium (viable myocardium with reduced resting flow) and/or viable but denervated myocardium can predict the risk of sudden death in subjects with ischemic cardiomyopathy.
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. Diseases of the heart like congestive heart failure (CHF), can cause the left ventricle to function improperly. Medications called beta-blockers appear to reverse the abnormalities in the left ventricle and frequently improve the function of the left ventricle in patients with different kinds of heart disease. How beta-blockers improve left ventricle function is unknown. One possible reason for improved function of the left ventricle with beta-blockers is improved blood flow to the heart muscle. When a region of the heart is active, it uses more fuel in the form of oxygen and sugar (glucose). As heart activity increases, blood flow to and from the area of activity increases also. Knowing these facts, researchers can use radioactive sugar (glucose) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans to observe what areas of the heart are receiving more blood flow. In this study researchers plan to measure glucose use in heart muscle and blood flow to the heart muscle in patients with CHF taking beta-blockers.