Clinical Research Directory

Prognostic Role of AI-Echo

Left atrial cardiomyopathy (LACM) is frequently underdiagnosed but plays a key role in increasing the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) and thromboembolic events. While atrial strain is a validated marker of LACM, its measurement with conventional echocardiography can be time-consuming and less feasible in acute settings. The use of AI-assisted echocardiography (AI-echo) may help streamline image acquisition and analysis, offering faster and potentially more accurate assessment. This study aims to compare the time required for atrial strain analysis using AI-echo versus standard methods. It also explores how changes in strain parameters (LASr, LASct, LAScd) relate to the onset of AF and in-hospital adverse outcomes, adjusting for comorbidities and conventional echo variables. Main endpoints include time reduction with AI-echo and the association between strain changes and AF, complications, or mortality during hospitalization.

Clinical Cohort Study - TRUST

The "Long-term Outcome and Predictors for Recurrence after Medical and Interventional Treatment of Arrhythmias at the University Heart Center Hamburg" (TRUST) study is an investor-initiated, single-center, prospective clinical cohort study including patients treated with cardiac arrhythmias or at high risk for cardiac arrhythmias. The design enables prospective, low-threshold, near complete inclusion of patients with arrhythmias treated at the UHZ. Collection of routine follow-up data, detailed procedural information and systematic biobanking will enable precise and robust phenotyping.

Atrial Fibrillation (AF) Ablation to Prevent Disease Progression of AF-induced Atrial Cardiomyopathy in Women and Men

The goal of clinical trial is to compare AF ablation to pharmacological rhythm management (being rate or rhythm control) in AF patients with signs of atrial cardiomyopathy (as defined by left atrial volume index \>34 ml/m2) The main objective it aims to answer is to determine whether AF ablation compared to pharmacological rhythm management in ACMP patients with AF reduces the incidence of the composite primary endpoint of CV death and first CV hospitalization/urgent visit.