Novel Echocardiographic Biomarkers Assessing the Myocardial Work in Heart Failure

Launched by ARISTOTLE UNIVERSITY OF THESSALONIKI · Oct 6, 2022

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is exploring new ways to assess heart function in patients who are hospitalized for heart failure. Researchers aim to understand how specific measurements taken through echocardiograms (a type of ultrasound for the heart) can provide valuable insights into different types of heart failure. By examining these measurements from when patients are admitted to when they are discharged, the study hopes to learn more about the underlying causes of heart failure and how it affects different people. They will also look at how these measurements relate to other medical data, treatments, and heart failure outcomes.

To participate in this trial, individuals must be adults aged 65 or older who are admitted to the cardiology department with heart failure symptoms, and they must have certain abnormal test results. However, those with specific conditions, such as congenital heart disease or active cancer, will not be eligible. Participants can expect to undergo standard echocardiographic tests and may contribute to important research that could improve heart failure care in the future. The study is currently recruiting participants at AHEPA University General Hospital in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • 1. Patients acutely admitted at the Department of Cardiology of AHEPA University General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece with symptoms and/or signs of heart failure (HF), as those are defined by the European Society of Cardiology.
• • 2. Patients with abnormal plasma concentration of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, measured within 24 hours from admission
• • 3. Objective echocardiographic evidence of cardiac structural and/or functional abnormalities consistent with the presence of left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction/diastolic dysfunction/raised LV filling pressures upon admission assessment
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • 1. Symptoms and/or signs of HF secondary to congenital heart disease, infective endocarditis, pericardial disease, and history of recent cardiac surgery (\<1 month)
• • 2. Patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis
• • 3. Patients with active malignancy and/or life expectancy \< 1 year
• • 4. Poor echocardiographic acoustic windows precluding reliable assessment and/or analysis
• • 5. Heart transplantation
• • 6. Patients not providing informed written consent to participate in the study