DZHK TORCH-Plus is a Registry for Patients With Cardiomyopathies and Serves as Source for Cardiovascular Research Studies

Launched by UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL HEIDELBERG · Feb 10, 2020

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

The DZHK TORCH-Plus trial is a research study focused on understanding different types of heart muscle diseases called cardiomyopathies. These conditions can affect how well the heart pumps blood and include types like dilated cardiomyopathy and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The goal of this study is to gather information from a larger group of patients—aiming for over 4,000 participants—so researchers can learn more about these diseases, especially the rarer forms. This will help improve risk assessments and develop better treatment strategies. Participants will undergo various assessments, including clinical evaluations and blood tests, to help scientists learn how these conditions develop and how best to manage them.

To be eligible for the study, participants must be between 18 and 80 years old and diagnosed with certain non-ischemic heart conditions, meaning their cardiomyopathy is not caused by reduced blood flow to the heart. However, individuals with specific health issues, such as severe heart valve disease or significant non-heart-related illnesses, may not qualify. Those who join can expect to contribute to important research that may lead to better understanding and treatment of heart diseases in the future. This study is currently recruiting participants, and it emphasizes collaboration with international partners to enhance the findings.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Non-ischemic structural cardiomyopathies
• • Age ≥ 18 or ≤ 80 years
• • The patient is able to understand the declaration of consent and to sign it dated
• • At least one of the following diagnoses depending on the specific TORCH-
• Plus inclusion / exclusion - SOP:
• • Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM)
• • family / genetic
• • inflammatory / persistent myocarditis
• • idiopathic (after exclusion secondary cause)
• • left sided systolic dysfunction (EF ≤ 45%)
• • Left ventricular hypertrophy
• • sarcomere hypertrophic cardiomoypathia (HCM, HOCM)
• • amyloid (AL: light chains, TTR: transthyretin, wild type)
• • Left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy (LVNC)
• • Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC / D)
• Exclusion Criteria:
• The following exclusion criteria have been defined and must be taken from the TORCH-Plus specific inclusion / exclusion - SOP in detail:
• • Age: \<18 years or\> 80 years
• * Patient has other (cardiac) previous illnesses:
• • uncontrollable arterial hypertension
• • primary pulmonary arterial hypertension
• • radiation therapy in the chest area
• • addiction (drug or alcohol abuse)
• • life expectancy \<1 year due to non-cardiological pre-existing conditions
• • significant heart valve disease
• • ischemic diseases and severe congenital heart diseases (including VSD, Fallot tetralogy, Ebstein anomaly)
• • chemotoxic cardiomyopathy
• • condition after myocarditis
• • combination of several traditional risk factors (e.g. hypertension and diabetes mellitus)
• • advanced chronic non-cardiac disease (e.g. chronic hepatitis or HIV)
• • Tachymyopathy