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109 active trials for Heart Diseases

Survey Of Mobilisation and Breathing Exercises After Thoracic and Abdominal Surgery

Background Thoracic or abdominal surgeries are followed by a shorter or longer period of immobilization and after major surgery there is a higher risk of developing cardiorespiratory complications. To prevent these complications, the patient is encouraged to change position and exercise in bed, get out of bed as early and as much as possible after the operation and to breathe with or without aids. There is no general definition of early mobilization and may start within a few hours to a few days after surgery. There is currently a lack of knowledge nationally and internationally about when the mobilization starts and what it contains. Many patients also receive breathing training in connection with the surgery. There is currently no consensus on which method is preferable for which groups of patients. There are similarities and differences in practice in the world regarding postoperative breathing training. There are studies that have mapped practice after primarily thoracic surgery but also abdominal surgery. However, there are no studies that have mapped when the prescribed breathing training starts after different types of operations. The purpose of the study is to map when mobilization and breathing training starts after abdominal and thoracic surgery and what is then performed Method The study will be carried out as a quality follow-up with mapping of practice. Patients ? 18 years of age who are undergoing a planned or acute open, keyhole or robot-assisted surgery, who are extubated and who breathe spontaneously will be included. Exclusion criteria are completed plastic, trauma, orthopedic or transplant surgery. The material will be recruited from Swedish university hospitals and county hospitals for 20 days of surgery (Monday through Thursday) for five consecutive weeks. Clinical benefit The study will mean that clinical practice is presented which, with regard to mobilization, is the first study ever that will present when this takes place and what is done and, with regard to breathing training, the first that shows when this training is initiated.

Start: February 2021
Sex Differences in Myocardial Steatosis Induced Left Ventricular Dysfunction

To test the specific research questions, healthy men and age-matched healthy premenopausal females will be enrolled. Subjects will undergo cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy (MRI/MRS) to evaluate cardiac morphology/function and fat metabolism. To acutely elevate myocardial triglyceride content, subjects will be asked to abstain from eating for 2 days (reproducibly causes a significant and physiological increase in myocardial fat deposition, transiently). Subjects will be allowed water and/or an isotonic saline solution in order to maintain hydration status. After screening, subjects will meet with the research coordinator or an investigator for a discussion, with opportunity for questions, before applicable consent forms are obtained. The subject will be screened for metal in or on their body and claustrophobia using a standard MR screening form. A venous blood sample will be taken for measurement of metabolic health, circulating hormones, and systemic inflammation. Imaging will include cine imaging for global morphology and function, tissue tagging for regional tissue deformation, spectroscopy for fat quantification. After baseline images of the heart are obtained, the subject will be asked to squeeze a MR-safe handgrip dynamometer at 30% of their maximum while images of the heart are obtained. Blood pressure will also be measured at rest and during stress. Each MRI will take approximately 90-120 minutes. Aim 1 will test the hypothesis that cardiac steatosis induced left ventricular dysfunction is sexually dimorphic, by comparing age-matched men and premenopausal women before and after 48 of fasting. Subjects will complete the MRI/MRS protocol described above before and after the fasting intervention. Aim 2 will test the hypothesis that estrogen is protective against cardiac steatosis-induced dysfunction, by suppressing ovarian sex hormones with a GnRH antagonist and repeating the fasting studies with and without estrogen add-back. 30 female subjects will be treated with GnRH antagonist and repeat the 48 hour fasting intervention and cardiac MRI/MRS protocol. 15 of the subjects will receive estrogen add-back using a transdermal patch, the other 15 subjects will receive a placebo patch. Aim 3 will test whether plasma and myocardial fatty acid composition is sexually dimorphic, by performing comprehensive plasma and myocardial lipidomics assessment.

Start: September 2018
Cardiac and Immune Cell Function in Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is a multi-system vascular disease which affects 2-5% of pregnancies. It is also a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease later in life and a number of functional and structural cardiac changes have been found in this population of patients. In mouse models disruption of a group of immune cells, neutrophils, has led to alteration of the placenta and offspring consistent with those seen in preeclampsia. These mice also have an abnormal cardiac function and structure (Nadkarni et al 2016). The investigators hypothesis that this may also occur in humans. This study aims to intimately link the maternal immunological and vascular components of cardiac dysfunction in women preeclampsia. The investigators hypothesise that in preeclampsia activated neutrophils may affect maternal immune system thus leading to myocardial injury and altered cardiac function. The study intends to identify the mechanisms by which the maternal immune system (focusing on neutrophil and T-cell subsets) affects cardiac function in women with preeclampsia. Specific aims to be addressed are: Aim 1: To correlate specific neutrophil phenotype(s) and function to cardiac function in women with preeclampsia during pregnancy Aim 2: To test whether specific activated neutrophil phenotype persists postpartum and whether this neutrophil phenotype correlates with cardiac function in women with preeclampsia postpartum The study population will comprise of 3 groups: Normotensive pregnant (~33 patients) Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH; New-onset hypertension after 20 weeks without proteinuria; ~33 patients) Preeclampsia (~34 patients) Cardiac function will be evaluated using cardiovascular magnetic resonance, echocardiography and cardiac markers in the blood. The participants immune system will be assessed from blood samples looking at the immune cells, hormone levels and inflammatory and non-inflammatory mediators. The secondary research objective is to investigate whether changes in the immune system and cardiac function in participants is persistent after delivery. Therefore participants will have scans and blood tests both antenatally and at 3 months postnatally. By identifying key changes in immune cell type and function with cardiac abnormalities in women with preeclampsia, data obtained from this study could provide novel insight into how the maternal immune system influences cardiac changes in normal and preeclamptic pregnancies. Identifying such links could pave the way for future therapeutic targets.

Start: November 2020