10 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
The purpose of this study is to investigate non-linear heart rate variability indexes as predictors of the incidence of cardiac arrhythmias in patients undergoing cardiac surgery, including coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and valvular surgery.
One common occurrence following open heart surgery is an irregular rhythm from the top chambers of the heart known as atrial fibrillation (afib or AF). It is known that about 30% of patients who have had bypass surgery without having a heart valve replaced at the same time will develop AF. It is felt that this occurrence leads to factors that will affect a subjects health for the rest of their life. In studying this the investigators will see if post operative afib is an indicator of a person having afib and is not a condition that may only last during the post op recovery period as many physicians feel.The problem in question is, is post operative afib only transient or is it an indicator for more long term episodes of afib that may lead to other health concerns like stroke. Fifty subjects will be asked to participate. There will be to groups of 25 subjects. All subjects will have a device implanted under the skin that will be able to detect all types of heart rhythms. One group will get standard treatment and the physicians will be blinded to the recordings. The other group will be treated by the recording and the information about the amount of time in afib. The purpose of the study is to determine what the true occurrence of afib is for the first year after open heart surgery and to see if knowing this will alter the clinical management of this group of subjects.Currently most subjects are treated without knowing this information and based on that the arrhythmia will no longer happen after the heart is healed or recovered from the surgery. Most medications for controlling the heart rate and rhythm are stopped around 3 months. There is also a tendency to not to use blood thinning medications for the prevention of stroke after this time period. Stroke is one of the major complications from afib. Not all subjects are aware of the irregular heart beats so you can not depend on them to accurately know. They might feel episodes of very fast beating episodes or may become weak and fatigued. Weakness and fatigue are also normal during the first parts of recover from bypass surgery. By documenting the true episodes of afib the investigators can better understand if postoperative afib might need to be treated as a life long issue rather than a transient post operative issue. This treatment might change clinical management and decrease mortality.
A feasibility study on the provision of acupuncture treatment in the hospital to 20 patients who have undergone open heart surgery procedures. The acupuncture treatments may begin as early as postoperative Day 2.
The goal of the proposed study is to investigate the relationship between two standard treatments, lidocaine or a mixture of lidocaine and bupivacaine, and 1) postoperative pain, and; 2) narcotic use following pacemaker or defibrillator insertion in subjects who undergo arrhythmia surgery at Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute while adjusting for pertinent clinical and/or demographic factors. No control group is necessary.
The study aims to evaluate and compare the incidence of atrial arrhythmias (including Post-Operative Atrial Fibrillation (POAF), atrial flutter, and atrial tachycardia) stratified by baseline Utah fibrosis stages and overall fibrosis (%) of the left atrial wall area. The investigators hypothesize that patients with a higher baseline Utah fibrosis staging will experience a higher incidence of POAF. The study also aims to evaluate and compare the in-hospital mortality, length-of-stay (LOS), complication rates (strokes, pneumonia, respiratory failure etc.) of the different Utah fibrosis stage cohorts. Perform cost analysis and compare between patients with POAF and patients without POAF. The investigators hypothesize that patients experiencing POAF will have a higher mortality rate, longer LOS, greater complications, and therefore, additional hospital costs.
The purpose of this study is to determine if atorvastatin (Lipitor) reduces the occurence of abnormal heart rhythm (atrial arrhythmia) following non cardiac thoracic surgery.
The purpose of this study is to compare the therapeutic strategies of rate control versus rhythm control in cardiac surgery patients who develop in-hospital postoperative atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter (AF). In patients who develop AF during hospitalization after cardiac surgery, the hypothesis is that a strategy of rhythm control will reduce days in hospital within 60 days of the occurrence of AF compared to a strategy of rate control.
The goal of this clinical trial is to is to test the safety of a new way to deliver a commonly used drug (amiodarone) used in heart surgery by placing a patch containing the drug directly on the heart instead of in an IV (vein). Participating subjects must be 20-85 year old males or females. Up to 80 participants having cardiac surgery at the University of Louisville will be involved in this study. The main questions this study aims to answer are: 1. Is the patch safe? 2. Does the patch lower the rate of atrial fibrillation (irregular heart rhythm) after cardiac surgery? Researchers will compare up to 3 different doses of the amiodarone patches (low, medium and high) to the usual treatment (Standard of Care) to see if there are differences (increases or decreases) in heart rhythms after cardiac surgery across study groups. Participants will be placed in one of 4 study groups: * Standard of Care (20 participants) * Low dose patch (20 participants) * Medium dose patch (20 participants) * High dose patch (20 participants) Participants will be monitored closely by their doctor(s) during the study and would: * Agree to participate after having their doctor, or a member of the team, explain the study in detail and allowing them to ask any questions they would like. * Sign an Informed Consent Form which will describe the study and tests in full. * Agree to have their doctor and his/her research team record your medical information, draw blood, and perform electrocardiograms, or EKGs (quick, painless test that measures the electrical activity of the heart) and echocardiograms (image of heart) to monitor their heart. * Agree to receive training on the portable EKG recorder and to use it at home approximately 30 days and 6 months after their surgery to monitor their heart. * Agree to return to the hospital approximately 30 days and 6 months after their surgery for a study visit. Participant involvement will be approximately 7 months total.
We would like to conduct a retrospective chart review examining the incidence of surgical heart block in children treated in the Cardiac Service Line at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. We would like to look at the last 30 surgical heart block cases seen at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. We will collect the following information on each patient: Patient Date of Birth Date of the surgical procedure Weight of the patient at the time of surgery Concomitant Diagnoses Need for permanent pacemaker Outcome of pacing (i.e. pacing successful) We hope to look at each data element in order to determine potential risks factors for surgical heart block. By identifying the risk factors, the investigator hopes to establish a training program regarding surgical avoidance of certain areas of the heart (if possible) and education regarding pacemaker follow-up. Each patient will be given a unique study number. The patient's name, social security number, medical record number or initials will not be used in our research database.
The purpose of this study is to determine if vitamin C decreases the chance of developing atrial fibrillation, a type of arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat, following cardiac surgery. This irregular heartbeat is a common occurrence following cardiac surgery, and occurs in about one third of patients. It poses extra risks to people who develop it. Our hypothesis is that Vitamin C will decrease the incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation.