American heart journal
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American heart journal · Feb 2012
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative StudyDesign of the RELAXin in acute heart failure study.
Acute heart failure (AHF) remains a major public health burden with a high prevalence and poor prognosis. Relaxin is a naturally occurring peptide hormone that increases cardiac output, arterial compliance, and renal blood flow during pregnancy. The RELAX-AHF-1 study will evaluate the effect of RLX030 (recombinant form of human relaxin 2) on symptom relief and clinical outcomes in patients with AHF. ⋯ Pre-RELAX-AHF results suggested that infusion of RLX030 may accelerate dyspnea relief and improve prognosis in patients hospitalized with AHF. RELAX-AHF-1 will further evaluate these effects.
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American heart journal · Feb 2012
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative StudyReduced immediate ischemic events with cangrelor in PCI: a pooled analysis of the CHAMPION trials using the universal definition of myocardial infarction.
There is a clinical need for an intravenous P2Y(12) inhibitor in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) for patients who are unable to take oral medications or might benefit from a rapidly reversible compound. As the time from admission to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) shortens, establishing the benefit of novel therapies impacting ischemic events is increasingly challenging. Cangrelor, an intravenous potent rapidly acting P2Y(12) inhibitor, bolus 30 μg/Kg plus infusion of 4 μg/Kg/min, was compared to a 600-mg loading dose of clopidogrel either before or early after PCI in patients with ACS undergoing PCI in The CHAMPION (Cangrelor versus standard tHerapy to Achieve optimal Management of Platelet InhibitiON) PLATFORM and PCI studies. ⋯ With the use of the universal definition of myocardial infarction, cangrelor was associated with a significant reduction in early ischemic events when compared with clopidogrel in patients with non-ST-elevation ACS undergoing PCI.
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American heart journal · Jan 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialDesign of the Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT).
TACT is an National Institutes of Health-sponsored, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 2 × 2 factorial clinical trial testing the benefits and risks of 40 infusions of a multicomponent disodium EDTA chelation solution compared with placebo and of an oral, high-dose multivitamin and mineral supplement. TACT has randomized and will follow up 1,708 patients for an average of approximately 4 years. ⋯ The trial is designed to have >85% power to detect a 25% relative reduction in the primary end point for each treatment factor. Enrollment began in September 2003 and was completed in October 2010.
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American heart journal · Jan 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialRationale and design of the coronary artery bypass grafting surgery off or on pump revascularization study: a large international randomized trial in cardiac surgery.
Uncertainty remains regarding the benefits and risks of the technique of operating on a beating heart (off pump) for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery versus on-pump CABG. Prior trials had few events and relatively short follow-up. There is a need for a large randomized, controlled trial with long-term follow-up to inform both the short- and long-term impact of the 2 approaches to CABG. ⋯ CORONARY is the largest trial yet conducted comparing off-pump CABG to on-pump CABG. Its results will lead to a better understanding of the safety and efficacy of off-pump CABG.
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American heart journal · Jan 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialSingle-bolus tenecteplase plus heparin compared with heparin alone for normotensive patients with acute pulmonary embolism who have evidence of right ventricular dysfunction and myocardial injury: rationale and design of the Pulmonary Embolism Thrombolysis (PEITHO) trial.
In acute pulmonary embolism (PE), overt right ventricular (RV) failure with cardiogenic shock indicates a poor prognosis. However, normotensive patients with acute RV dysfunction on echocardiography or computed tomography and with myocardial troponin elevation may also have an adverse outcome. Thrombolysis rapidly reverses RV pressure overload in PE, but it remains unclear whether it may improve the early and long-term clinical outcome of selected normotensive patients. ⋯ By determining the benefits vs risks of thrombolysis in submassive or intermediate-risk PE, this trial is expected to answer a long-standing query on the management of this patient population.