Clinical Research Directory

Systematic Post-Implementation Evaluation of Stents

To conduct a quality assurance project to establish the differences in health care processes and cost effectiveness of having the thin-strut Orsiro stent versus the thicker strut Promus stent on the shelf (i.e. as the most accessible stent).

Drug-Coated Balloon vs. Drug-Eluting Stent for Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Large Coronary Artery Disease

Prospective, randomised, open-label, international multicenter trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of drug-coated balloon (DCB) treatment compared to drug-eluting stenting (DES) in patients with large coronary artery disease.

Secondary Event Prevention Using Population Risk Management After PCI and for Anti-Rheumatic Medications

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) and its treatment carry profound public health and economic implications. Among Veterans, IHD represents one of the most common causes of death and disability, with over 500,000 affected individuals' annually. Rheumatic disease, though far less common than IHD can affect multiple organ systems and requires therapies costing in excess of $50,000 a year. Optimal treatment of Veterans with IHD and rheumatic disease requires a number of medications to maintain or improve health. Not taking medications as prescribed, however, is common and increases the risk of subsequent adverse events (cardiac death and myocardial infarction \[MI\]). To improve medication adherence rates and the cardiac health of Veterans with IHD, the investigators propose to test a medication adherence intervention. Known as VA SEPPRMACI-ARM (Secondary Event Prevention using Population Risk Management After PCI and for Anti-Rheumatic Medications), this intervention will consist of: proactive real-time adherence monitoring of patients and targeting of individuals if they have not refilled their medication a given number of days after it was due for refill. The intervention will employ a tailored, escalating-intensity approach which begins with some combination of personalized short messaging service (SMS) text messages and interactive voice response (IVR) telephone technology, depending on patient preference. Patients not completing SMS and then IVR by not refilling their medication (or declining SMS and not completing IVR) escalate to a trained research interventionalist. The interventionalist will contact the patient and address adherence barriers based on the dimensions outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO) that are specific to each patient. The investigators will test the intervention on IHD patients who have recently undergone PCI-a cardiac procedure commonly used among IHD patients to improve the heart's blood flow and in patients starting anti-rheumatic medication. The investigators will test the intervention at four VA Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories (CCLs) and have 12 sites serving as usual care controls.

Cardiovascular Risk in Peripheral Artery Disease Patients Undergoing Endovascular Revascularisation

This study will investigate heart-related complications in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) undergoing endovascular revascularization procedures to improve blood flow in the legs. Previous studies have shown that some patients develop silent heart injury after these procedures, even without symptoms, and that this may be associated with worse long-term outcomes. Approximately 500 patients will be included in the study. Blood tests for cardiac biomarkers, including high-sensitivity troponin and NT-proBNP, will be performed before and after the procedure. Participants will also undergo ultrasound examination of the heart to assess heart function, including advanced measures that may detect early or subtle heart damage. In addition, heart rate variability will be measured using a short electrocardiogram recording. Patients will be followed for 30 days and 1 year after the procedure to assess the occurrence of major cardiovascular events, limb-related complications, and death. Additional blood samples will be collected and stored for future analysis of inflammation, oxidative stress, and genetic markers that may help explain the mechanisms associated with heart injury and prognosis in these patients.

Self Expanding Coronary Sinus Reducer for Treatment of Symptomatic Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction (CMD)

VahatiCor's Coronary Sinus Reducer (A-FLUX) has been designed to improve angina or angina-like symptoms in patients with CMD. SERRA-I is an early feasibility study that evaluates the safety and clinical performance of the A-FLUX Reducer in this population.

Ischaemic PReconditioning In Non Cardiac surgEry

Several randomized trials suggested a cardioprotective beneficial effect (eg reduction in cardiac troponin release) of remote ischemic preconditioning in cardiac surgery. Remote ischemic preconditioning by brief episodes of ischemia and reperfusion in a remote organ or vascular territory provides protection from injury by myocardial ischemia and reperfusion. In the translation of remote ischemic preconditioning from bench to bedside, the first proof of principle and small randomized controlled trials have shown a decreased release of myocardial biomarkers after aortic, congenital cardiac, adult valve and coronary artery by-pass graft surgery. This reduction in cardiac biomarkers release translated into better survival in a recent randomized trial performed in cardiac surgery. No clinical trial on remote ischemic preconditioning in non-cardiac surgery setting has been performed so far. The investigators study wants to test, for the first time, the hypothesis that remote ischaemic preconditioning is effective in reducing cardiac damage in high risk patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery. Remote ischaemic preconditioning will be achieved by inflation of a blood-pressure cuff to 200 mm Hg to the upper arm for 5 minutes, followed by 5 minutes reperfusion while the cuff will be deflated. General anesthesia will be induced and maintained without using propofol in both groups. Cardiac troponin will be used as marker of cardiac damage. If the results of a reduction in postoperative cardiac troponin release and perioperative cardiac ischaemic events will be confirmed in a non-cardiac surgery setting, the investigators could improve a strategy to prevent perioperative cardiac complication easy to apply, safe and low cost.

Heart-brain-axis and Psychosocial Stress

The main study objective is to prospectively determine the influence of sex-related risk factors and psychosocial variables on neuronal stress responses and myocardial perfusion in a population of 64 female and male individuals 50-75 years of age and free of cardiovascular disease.

A Study to Evaluate the Safety and Pharmacokinetics of Regadenoson in Pediatric Patients

This is a multi-centre, open-label, single-dose safety, tolerability and PK-pharmacodynamics (PD) study of the vasodilator regadenoson in 3 paediatric age groups for whom a pharmacologic stress perfusion CMR test is clinically indicated; adolescents aged 12 to \<18 years (Cohort A), children aged 2 to \<12 years (Cohort B), and infants aged 1 to \<24 months and who weigh at least 3 kg (Cohort C). Regadenoson will be used as the pharmacologic stress agent in this study with MPI serving as both surrogate pharmacodynamic marker of the agent (MPR, MBF) and a clinically evaluable examination for the patient

Prospective Multicenter Registry On Radiation Dose Estimates Of Cardiac CT Angiography in Daily Practice in 2017 (PROTECTION VI)

Background: CCTA is a common way to evaluate coronary artery disease. It stands for coronary computed tomography angiography. It uses scanning to look at the arteries that supply blood to the heart. It is noninvasive, widely available, and generally accurate. But it does expose people to radiation. Exposure to high amounts of radiation can increase a person s risk of getting cancer. Researchers want to learn more about the relationship between CCTA and radiation exposure. Objective: To see how much radiation is used to take pictures of the heart and how measures to reduce radiation are used around the world. Eligibility: People ages 18 years and older who need a computed tomography (CT) scan of the heart Design: Participants will be screened with a review of their medical records. Participants may have a pregnancy test. Participants will have the scheduled scan. Small, sticky discs will be placed on the chest. A small tube will be placed into a vein in the arm. A contrast material (dye) will be given through it. Participants will lie on the CT scanning table. A CCTA scan usually takes about 15 minutes if the heart rate is slow and steady.

Evaluation of a Diagnostic Software for Coronary Artery Disease Using Retrospective CCTA Data (CODEX-1 Study)

The CODEX-1 study is a multicenter retrospective observational study designed to assess the diagnostic performance of a novel software application for coronary artery disease (CAD) evaluation. The application integrates automated stenosis detection, CT-derived fractional flow reserve (CT-FFR), and plaque quantification, all performed on-site. A total of 1,000 patients who previously underwent coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and diagnostic invasive coronary angiography (ICA) and/or other non-invasive imaging will be included. The study compares the diagnostic outputs of the software to current clinical practice and expert adjudication, focusing on CAD-RADS categorization, prediction of the need for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and reduction in unnecessary ICA procedures.

Speed-up the Diagnosis and Evaluation of anoMalous Coronary ARTery From the Aorta

Anomalous aortic origin of the coronary arteries (AAOCA) is a rare congenital disease and one of the leading causes of sudden cardiac deaths (SCD) in young athletes but also has a lethal presentation in adult age with myocardial infarction, even if not related to obstructive coronary arteries. Unfortunately, diagnostic imaging techniques, invasive assessment, and provocative stress tests have shown low sensitivity and specificity in detecting inducible ischemia, and a multimodality assessment is then necessary. Innovative tools have been developed in the medical field using computer-based simulation, 3-dimensional reconstruction, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI). With the application of such new technologies, we aim to fill the gap of knowledge and the diagnostic limitation regarding risk stratification for most subjects with AAOCA. This work seeks to enhance, fasten, and personalize the clinical diagnosis of AAOCA by integrating anatomical measurements, clinical data, and biomechanical patient-specific features. The SMART study will set a system to automatically segment and classify coronary arteries with AAOCA from computerized tomography angiography (CTA) by artificial intelligence (AI). Segmentation will feed a 3D model of the aortic root and coronary artery for biomechanical assessment through finite element analysis (FEA). This will allow us to assess the location of possible coronary artery compression under an effort condition. These in-silico results, the anatomical features measured by AI, and the clinical data will be integrated into a risk model to estimate the hazard risk of adverse events such as SCD or myocardial infarction. This workflow will be framed in an IT system to allow a web-based remote diagnostic service. Thanks to the proposed multidisciplinary approach, SMART aims to overcome the current diagnostic limitations related to the reduced ability of functional stress tests to detect ischemia. Potentially helping in patient-specific risk stratification, SMART is also thought to provide a way to get a first diagnostic indication about AAOCA being accessible from any hospital, fostering the diffusion of peripheral territorial support to the diagnosis and treatment of such rare disease.

Ultralow Dose PET Imaging of 18F-flurpiridaz

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate an investigational ultralow dose positron emission tomography (PET) imaging technique for known or suspected coronary artery disease (for detecting myocardial ischemia or infarction) detection and monitoring. The main question it aims to answer is: Can the investigators optimize the timing, scan duration, and image reconstruction to reduce the radiation dose 10-100 fold of the current clinical standard? Participants will be injected with a radioactive tracer called Fluorine-18 (18F)-flurpiridaz and be imaged on a new type of high sensitivity PET scanner for up to 3 hours

Effective Myocardial Protection Time of Del Nido Cardioplegia in Adult Cardiac Surgery

This single-center, prospective, observational cohort study quantifies the effective myocardial protection window of Del Nido cardioplegia during adult open-heart surgery performed under cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and aortic cross-clamp (ACC). Without altering routine care, time-stamped high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) measurements will be obtained at predefined intraoperative and early postoperative intervals to identify the inflection ("change-point") at which biochemical evidence of ischemic injury begins to rise. Eighty adults undergoing elective valve and/or thoracic aortic procedures with Del Nido cardioplegia will be enrolled. The primary endpoint is the intraoperative hs-cTn change-point time referenced to ACC. Secondary endpoints include associations between change-point and ACC duration, the presence/timing of any re-dose, and early clinical outcomes (e.g., low cardiac output syndrome, maximum VIS in the first 24 h, new arrhythmia or pacemaker need, acute kidney injury by KDIGO, ventilation hours, ICU/hospital length of stay, 30-day MACE and mortality). All cardioplegia choices (dose, route, temperature, re-dose decisions) remain per standard practice; no experimental therapy is administered. Risks are minimal and limited to small-volume blood sampling coordinated with routine draws.

Smartphone Twelve-Lead ECG Utility In ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction II

AliveCor (www.alivecor.com) has developed several electrocardiogram (ECG) devices that interface with iOS and Android smartphones and tablets via various Kardia apps. The current Kardia family of devices can measure single lead and six limb-lead ECGs, depending on the device. KardiaMobile, KardiaMobile 6L, and KardiaMobile Card have FDA clearance for ECG rhythm recording. A modified single-lead Kardia smartphone 12-lead ECG was previously validated in the multicenter ST LEUIS study for the diagnosis of ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) and Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI). Recently, AliveCor developed a new device: AliveCor (AC) 12-lead (12L) ECG System to record simultaneously 4 leads of ECG and then generate complete 12-lead ECGs. A previous protocol at the University of Oklahoma involved 200 subjects with early prototypes of the AC 12L device with the specific aim to validate that it accurately generated 12-lead ECGs as compared to simultaneously acquired FDA-cleared 12-lead ECGs. The prototype version of the AliveCor 12L ECG System simultaneously measured four channels of ECG (leads I, II, V2, V4), calculated the remaining limb leads as is standard for 12-lead ECGs (Leads III, aVR, aVL, aVF) and synthesized the remaining 4 precordial ECG leads (V1, V3, V5, V6). This protocol will serve to validate the production version of the system against standard 12-Lead ECGs for the diagnosis of STEMI and NSTEMI in patients admitted to the Emergency Department or directly to the Cardiac Cath Lab for the evaluation of chest pain. It is anticipated that the waveforms for each of the 12 leads from the AC 12L ECG System will be highly correlated with the corresponding leads from the comparator commercially available 12-lead ECG devices used at participating sites. The purpose of this study is to clinically validate that the four-channel AC 12L ECG device can enable the diagnosis of STEMI and NSTEMI in a non-inferior manner to existing 12-lead ECG devices.

ILUMIEN-V - AERO: All-comEr Registry of OCT (AERO)

The study aims to assess contemporary practice in OCT use during routine interven-tional practice and to assess the impact of the MLD-MAX algorithm on real-world PCI in a large unselected European all-comer-study cohort.

Multivessel TALENT

Multivessel TALENT is a prospective, randomized, multi-center study comparing clinical outcomes between SUPRAFLEX Cruz and SYNERGY in approximately 1550 patients with de-novo three vessel disease undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Patients will be treated according to "state of art PCI"; not only treatment strategies based on the latest ESC guideline, such as SYNTAX Score II recommendation, Heart Team discussion, post-procedure intravascular imaging optimization, cholesterol reduction by statin or PCSK-9 inhibitor, but also exploratory treatment strategies based on the latest evidence, such as physiological assessment using quantitative flow ratio and prasugrel monotherapy following 1-month dual antiplatelet therapy after PCI.

Artificial Intelligence Stress Echo (FINESSE) Project

The goal of this observational study is to learn whether combining stress echocardiography (stress echo) results with routine clinical information can better predict important heart outcomes in adults (18+) with chest pain who were assessed for suspected coronary artery disease. The main questions it aims to answer are: Can an artificial intelligence / machine learning model using stress echo findings plus clinical factors (such as blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, other health conditions, medications, and body measurements) predict major heart-related events (such as heart attack, stroke, death related to heart disease, or the need for coronary procedures) more accurately than stress echo results alone? Can the model help identify which patients are most likely to benefit from further invasive assessment and possible coronary revascularisation (for example, a stent or bypass surgery)? Which combination of stress echo measurements and clinical factors contributes most to risk prediction? Participants will: Not be asked to attend extra visits or have additional tests for this study. Have their existing stress echo reports and routinely collected hospital record data analysed (approximately 3,000 people who previously had dobutamine stress echo at Milton Keynes University Hospital). In some cases, if outcomes are not fully available from hospital records, the research team may check additional sources (such as GP records, or contacting the patient if appropriate) to confirm whether a major heart-related event occurred.

A Prospective, Multicenter, Randomized Controlled Trial to Investigate the Value of Coronary CT Angiography in the Understanding and Management of Coronary Calcium (The Optimal Trial)

The OPTIMAL randomized clinical trial has been designed to compare two imaging strategies and to test the hypothesis that a calcium modification strategy informed by coronary CT angiography (CCTA) will improve procedural efficiency and effectiveness compared with the current standard of care (IVUS-guided PCI) while achieving similar clinical outcomes in patients with hemodynamically significant calcified coronary artery disease.

ISCHEMIA-EXTEND (Extended Follow-up)

The International Study of Comparative Health Effectiveness with Medical and Invasive Approaches (ISCHEMIA) Extended Follow-up (ISCHEMIA-EXTEND) is the long-term follow-up of randomized, surviving participants in ISCHEMIA. ISCHEMIA was an NHLBI-supported trial that randomized 5,179 participants with stable ischemic heart disease to two different management strategies: 1) an initial invasive strategy (INV) of cardiac catheterization and revascularization when feasible plus guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT), or 2) an initial conservative strategy (CON) of GDMT. The trial did not demonstrate a reduction in the primary endpoint with an initial invasive strategy. There was an excess of procedural myocardial infarction (MI) and a reduction in spontaneous MI in the INV group. Prior evidence suggests that spontaneous MI carries a higher risk of subsequent death than procedural MI. There was a late separation in the cardiovascular (CV) mortality curves over a median of 3.2 years follow-up in ISCHEMIA. The MI incidence curves crossed at approximately 2 years. However, during the trial follow-up phase there were excess non-CV deaths in the invasive strategy. Therefore, it is imperative to ascertain long-term vital status to provide patients and clinicians with robust evidence on whether there are differences between management strategies and to increase precision around the treatment effect estimates for risk of all-cause, CV and non-CV death over the long-term. Overarching Goal: To assess the effect of an initial invasive strategy on long-term all-cause, CV and non-CV mortality compared with an initial conservative strategy in SIHD patients with at least moderate ischemia on stress testing, over 10 years median follow-up. Condition: Coronary Disease Procedure: Observational Phase: Phase III per NIH Condition: Cardiovascular Diseases Procedure: Observational Phase: Phase III per NIH Condition: Heart Diseases Procedure: Observational Phase: Phase III per NIH

Single vs. Dual Antiplatelet Therapy in Elderly or HBR Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Intervention With DCB (PICCOLETO IV-EPIC 38)

This international, multicenter, open-label, randomized clinical trial evaluates the safety and efficacy of single antiplatelet therapy (SAPT) compared to dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in elderly or high bleeding risk patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with the latest generation drug-coated balloon (DCB). The study includes patients with stable or unstable coronary syndromes and aims to assess rates of ischemic and bleeding adverse events.

Evaluation of Effectiveness and Safety of Synergy XD and Synergy Megatron™ Stent

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Synergy XD stent and Synergy Megatron™ Stent in the "real world" daily practice as compared with the other drug-eluting stents.

Personalized Evaluation of Susptected Myocardial Ischemia

This study aims to assess whether the use of clinical risk models, known as Clinical Likelihood (CL) models, can reduce the need for diagnostic examinations without negatively impacting quality of life or prognosis after 12 months in patients with stable new onset chest pain. Additionally, the project will evaluate a newly developed method called Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging for measuring function and oxygen content in the smallest blood vessels (microvasculature) of the hand, which may also reflect blood flow and oxygen content in the microvasculature of the heart.

Perfusion Estimation For Optimal Treatment Strategy in Chronic Coronary Syndrome

We will establish a cohort of 570 symptomatic chronic coronary syndrome patients undergoing 15O-water PET and assess their symptoms through repeated questionnaires. Two hundred patients with abnormal perfusion will be randomized to immediate or delayed referral to invasive coronary angiography with concomitant optimization of guideline-directed medical therapy with repeated 15O-water PET and questionnaires at 3 and 6 months. The primary objective is to compare the potential benefit of early invasive coronary angiography (ICA) versus guideline directed medical therapy (GDMT) on symptomatic relief defined as freedom of angina after 3 months following a positive \[15O\]H2O cardiac PET/CT in patients with symptomatic chronic coronary syndrome.

Safety and Clinical Performance of the Freesolve Resorbable Magnesium Scaffold (RMS) System in Subjects With Coronary Artery Lesions

The objective of this study is to assess the safety and efficacy of the Freesolve resorbable magnesium scaffold (RMS) in the treatment of subjects with up to two de novo lesions in native coronary arteries compared to the Xience coronary drug-eluting stent (DES) system