7 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
The study will enroll 200 women newly diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy within 5 months postpartum in a randomized placebo controlled trial of bromocriptine therapy to evaluate its impact on myocardial recovery and clinical outcomes. Given that bromocriptine prevents breastfeeding, an additional 50 women with peripartum cardiomyopathy excluded from the trial due to a desire to continue breastfeeding but meeting all other entry criteria will be followed in an observational cohort.
The purpose of this study is to examine the clinical treatment of patients diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy complicated by cardiogenic shock.
The purpose of this project is to evaluate parameters of diastolic dysfunction assessed by clinical echocardiogram in patients who have had recovery of systolic function.
The goal of this study is to describe the use of ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) in the pregnant or peripartum patient.
A screening modality to help categorize obese pregnant women as high or low probability for heart failure would be helpful in the evaluation of the obese pregnant women with dyspnea. Outside of pregnancy, measurement of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) or amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is recommended in the evaluation of acute dyspnea and in the diagnosis of heart failure. During pregnancy, elevated BNP has been associated with adverse cardiovascular events, while normal BNP levels have been observed in healthy pregnancies. While BNP levels outside of pregnancy have been shown to be lower in obese patients variations in BNP levels by body mass index (BMI) in pregnancy have not been studied. Before BNP can be deemed a reliable screening test for heart failure in obese pregnant women, normal BNP values in the setting of obesity and pregnancy need to be established. We therefore propose the following specific aims: Objective 1: Compare mean plasma NT-proBNP levels in the third trimester, immediately postpartum, and at 4-6 weeks postpartum between obese pregnant women without cardiovascular disease and non-obese pregnant women without cardiovascular disease. We hypothesize that mean plasma NT-proBNP levels in obese pregnant women without pre-existing cardiovascular disease will be significantly lower than levels in non-obese pregnant women. Objective 2: Assess whether plasma NT-proBNP levels in pregnancy correlate with BMI. We hypothesize that there will be an inverse correlation between plasma NT-proBNP levels and BMI in our pregnant cohort similar to that seen outside of pregnancy.
Peri-partum cardiomyopathy is a heart muscle weakness that occurs during or following pregnancy. Research suggests that many initial heart injuries including viruses, pregnancy and other unknown causes, can lead to a process of inflammation of the heart muscle which can weaken the heart and cause cardiomyopathy. Why this process occurs in women during pregnancy is not well understood and if it differs from those women who develop cardiomyopathy from a virus is unknown. This study has been proposed to look at genetic information (DNA) as well as the immune system (the body's response to fight off infections and/or viruses) to find possible causes for the heart muscle damage that occurs in peripartum cardiomyopathy.
The goal of this study is to better characterize peripartum cardiomyoapthy or pregnancy-related cardiomyopathy by enrolling as many PPCM survivors as possible using both direct and web-based methods of recritment. Patients will anser a questionnaire regarding the onset, progression, treatment and follow-up of their diagnosis as well as the psychosocial aspects of PPCM.