Cardiovascular Diseases and Cardiac Surgery

Below are current clinical trials.

Filter this list of studies by location, status and more.

1. A Study of the Effect of Myectomy on the Sudden Cardiac Death Risk in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

   Rochester, Minn.

   The primary purpose/objective of this study is to determine whether myectomy as a management option for severe hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) reduces the incidence of sudden cardiac death.

2. Prospective Identification of Long QT Syndrome in Fetal Life

   Rochester, Minn.

   The postnatal diagnosis of Long QT Syndrome (LQTS) is suggested by a prolonged QT interval on 12 lead electrocardiogram (ECG),a positive family history and/or characteristic arrhythmias and confirmed by genetic testing.  LQTS testing cannot be performed successfully before birth as   fetal ECG is not possible and direct measure of the fetal QT interval by magnetocardiography is limited. Genetic testing can be performed in utero, but there is risk to the pregnancy and the fetus. Although some fetuses present with arrhythmias easily recognized as LQTS (torsade des pointes (TdP) and/or 2° atrioventricular (AV) block, this is uncommon, occurring in <25% of fetal LQTS cases. Rather, the most common presentation of fetal LQTS is sinus bradycardia, a subtle rhythm disturbance that often is unappreciated to be abnormal. Consequently, the majority of LQTS cases are unsuspected and undiagnosed during fetal life, with dire consequences. For example, maternal medications commonly used during pregnancy can prolong the fetal QT interval and may provoke lethal fetal ventricular arrhythmias. But the most significant consequence is the missed opportunity for primary prevention of life threatening ventricular arrhythmias after birth because the infant is not suspected to have LQTS before birth. The over-arching goal of the study is to overcome the barriers to prenatal detection of LQTS. The investigators plan to do so by developing an algorithm using fetal heart rate (FHR) which will discriminate fetuses with or without LQTS. Immediate Goal: The investigators propose a multicenter pre-birth observational cohort study to develop a Fetal Heart Rate (FHR)/Gestational Age (GA) algorithm from a cohort of fetuses recruited from 13 national and international centers where one parent is known by prior genetic testing to have a mutation in one of the common LQTS genes: potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily Q member 1 (KCNQ1), potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily H member 2 (KCNH2), or sodium voltage-gated channel alpha subunit 5 (SCN5A). The investigators have chosen this population because 1) These mutations are the most common genetic causes of LQTS, and 2) Offspring will have high risk of LQTS as inheritance of these LQTS gene mutations is autosomal dominant. Thus, progeny of parents with a known mutation are at high (50%) risk of having the same parental LQTS mutation. The algorithm will be developed using FHR measured serially throughout pregnancy. All offspring will undergo postnatal genetic testing for the parental mutation as the gold standard for diagnosing the presence or absence of LQTS.

3. Study of Awareness and Detection of Familial Hypercholesterolemia (CASCADE-FH)

   Rochester, Minn.

   The CASCADE Familial Hypercholesterolemia Registry will track therapy, clinical outcomes, and patient-reported outcomes over time aiming to increase familial hypercholesterolemia awareness, promote optimal disease management, and improve outcomes. This study is not recruiting family members of FH patients at this time.

4. Peripheral Nerve Stimulation Therapy for Atrial Fibrillation

   Rochester, Minn.

   The purpose of this study is to determine and compare the safety and efficacy of transcutaneous afferent patterned stimulation (TAPS) and respiratory-gated auricular vagal afferent nerve stimulation (RAVANS) therapies for the reduction of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) burden.

5. A Study to Assess Non-invasive Arterial Air Plethysmography of Normal and Abnormal Arterial Hemodynamics

   Rochester, Minn.

   The purpose of this study is to determine the accuracy (sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, positive predictive value) of a non-invasive arterial air plethysmography prototype in people with normal and abnormal arterial hemodynamics.

6. A Study to Evaluate Aortic Dilatation in Patients with Conotruncal Abnormalities

   Rochester, Minn.

   The purpose of this study is to assess operative and postoperative outcomes after aortic valve surgery, evaluate for changes in ascending aorta diameter by comparing pre-operative CT imaging to measurements on follow-up imaging, and examine late outcomes and functional status during the follow-up period with specific focus on mortality, need for re-operation and incidence of aortic dissection.

7. A Study of Heart Muscle Elasticity Measured by Echocardiography

   Rochester, Minn.

   The purpose of this study is to evaluate the possibility of using echocardiography to measure heart muscle elasticity in clinical practice.

8. A Study of Sexual Dysfunction in Patients with Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy Undergoing Septal Myectomy

   Rochester, Minn.

   The purpose of this study is to determine how many patients suffer from sexual function problems and ascertain if they are improved or modified by cardiac surgical intervention.

9. A Study of Lung Ultrasound to Assess Extravascular Lung Water

   Rochester, Minn.

   The purpose of this study is to determine if lung ultrasound surface wave elastography (LUSWE) can accurately detect changes in lung elasticity (compliance) caused by the presence of extravascular lung water  (pulmonary edema).

10. Hospital Diuretic Therapy and Associated Risk of Heart Failure in Treating Fluid Volume Overload

    Rochester, Minn.

    The objective of this proposal is to assess blood-plasma volume (TBV-PV) status quantitatively in patients with DHF admitted to hospital for volume management, and to determine how effective standard diuretic therapy is in achieving euvolemia and the impact of their quantitated volume status at the time of hospital discharge on heart failure related morality and re-hospitalizations. Thus, to determine if quantitative blood volume analysis could potentially serve as an effective tool to guide more effective in-hospital diuretic therapy to achieve better outcomes in patients hospitalized with clinically identified volume overload.