Clinical Research Directory

Real-Time Intracardiac Echocardiography for Ventricular Arrhythmia Ablation

This study is investigating whether using ultrasound directly inside the heart during ablation of heart rhythm disorders in the ventricles can reduce radiation exposure for patients. During an ablation, catheters are guided through the heart to treat the abnormal electrical signals. Usually, X-ray imaging (fluoroscopy) is used to see where the catheters are, which exposes both patients and hospital staff to radiation. The study is randomized and controlled: half of the participants will have the ablation with ultrasound inside the heart, and the other half will have the standard ablation without ultrasound during the procedure. The main goal is to compare the amount of X-ray time used during the procedure. Secondary goals are to look at safety, effectiveness, and the total procedure time. Patients with premature ventricular contractions or ventricular tachycardia can take part. A total of 70 people will be included, 35 in each group. Using ultrasound inside the heart makes it possible to see the catheters and heart structures directly, so many steps can be done without X-rays. This could make ablations safer and reduce radiation exposure. The study is being carried out at Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and at University Hospital Basel. All steps are standardized and data are collected carefully. The results will show whether ultrasound during ablations can significantly reduce radiation and make ablations more efficient and safer.

CHU Dual-Energy Ablation in Ventricular Arrhythmia

The objective of this study is to evaluate the safety of the dual-energy ablation catheter manufactured by Shanghai MicroPort EP Medical Technology Co., Ltd. in the treatment of tachyarrhythmias.

Treatment of Focal Ventricular Tachycardias Using a Pulsed Field Ablation From a Point Ablation Catheter Short Title FOCUS-PFA

The purpose of this study is to examine the use of a point ablation catheter (Farapoint, Boston Scientific) in the mapping and ablation of focal ventricular arrhythmias (premature ventricular contractions or ventricular tachycardia) using pulsed field energy.

Myocarditis Causing Premature Ventricular Contractions:Insights From the MAVERIC Registry

To assess potential link between unrecognized myocardial inflammation (myocarditis) and premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) associated with and without reduced Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) through comprehensive diagnostic work up.

The MARY-JANE Cannabis and Heart Rhythm Trial

Despite recreational cannabis now being legal in 23 states, where more than 100 million Americans reside, studies on the actual health effects are limited. This study is a randomized trial, where each participant will be instructed to consume or avoid cannabis on randomly assigned days during a 14-day monitoring period. The goal of this study is to answer the question: "Does cannabis use increase the frequency of 'early' and abnormal heart beats?" During the 14-day period, participants will wear an external heart monitor, a glucose monitor, and a fitness tracker to track heart rhythm, glucose levels, step counts, and sleep health. Participants will use a mobile app or a text messaging service for daily instructions/reminders on cannabis use, and short surveys. The investigators ask that participants smoke or vape cannabis at least once on days they are instructed to consume cannabis. Compelling evidence of heart and other health effects would be important to the clinical care of our patients.

Intracardiac Echocardiography-Guided Catheter Ablation for Premature Ventricular Contractions Originating From the Papillary Muscles

This randomized, prospective, parallel, single-blind, multicenter clinical trial investigates the efficacy and safety of intracardiac echocardiography (ICE)-guided catheter ablation versus pressure-sensing catheter ablation alone in reducing PVC recurrence among patients with confirmed papillary muscle-originating premature ventricular contractions (PVCs). Participants were randomly allocated to either the ICE-guided intervention group or the conventional ablation control group following definitive diagnosis.

Concealed Myocardial Abnormalities by Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Idiopathic VT

Idiopathic Ventricular arrhythmia (VAs) refers to VAs that occur in the absence of clinically apparent structural heart disease. The outflow tracts (OTs) are the most common origin of idiopathic VAs and PVCs, accounting for approximately 10% of all patients referred for evaluation of VAs with the RVOT being the origin of about 70-80% of these arrhythmias. Studies have shown that increased PVC burden was associated with reduced LV function, a higher incidence of heart failure, and a higher risk of death. The diagnosis, prognostication and treatment of patients with VAs are challenging. A routine diagnostic workup that includes transthoracic echocardiography and an assessment for the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD) as recommended by current clinical guidelines cannot recognize focal structural abnormalities or underlying structural heart disease (SHD) in a substantial proportion of patients. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) provides an excellent assessment of cardiac morphology and function and enables a detailed myocardial tissue characterization with a high degree of precision. CMR is widely regarded as the gold standard for identifying structural arrhythmogenic substrates in patients with VAs and normal echocardiography.

Prophylactic Frequent Premature Ventricular complexeS sUPPression on Left ventriculaR Function impairmEnt in aSymptomatic patientS

The main objective of the study is to demonstrate that prophylactic treatment of patients with asymptomatic frequent (\>10%) PVCs is superior to simple follow-up strategy with no therapy to prevent subsequent LV dysfunction at 24 months. The prophylactic treatment is based on drugs ± ablation (ablation can be performed if the PVC burden remain \>10% after 2 lines of AAD treatment since the initiation of the study). The primary endpoint will be the development of LV dysfunction (PVC-iCMP) defined as a 15% relative LVEF decrease (and/or a LVEF \<50%) within 2 years following randomization, on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) (or transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) when not possible).