Eisenmenger Syndrome

What is this study about? This study will test whether adding sotatercept to usual medicines for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) can help adults who have PAH due to unrepaired congenital heart defects (atrial or ventricular septal defect, or patent ductus arteriosus), including Eisenmenger syndrome. These conditions often cause long-standing changes in the lung blood vessels and low oxygen levels. Who can join? About 36 adults (age ≥18 years) in Japan whose PAH has not improved enough with pulmonary vasodilators may join. People with very severe symptoms (WHO class IV) or other serious illnesses will not be enrolled. What will happen if I join? Participants will be randomly assigned (like a coin flip, in a 2:1 ratio) to: Sotatercept + vasodilator-based PAH care, or vasodilator-based PAH care alone. The study lasts 24 weeks. Those who receive sotatercept will have injections every 3 weeks. All participants will have clinic visits and tests at the start, week 12, and week 24, including a 6-minute walk test (how far you can walk in 6 minutes), blood tests, questionnaires, and other heart-lung assessments used in routine PAH care. What are the possible benefits? Sotatercept improved exercise capacity and heart-lung measures in other PAH studies, but people with unrepaired heart defects were not included. This study may or may not help you directly, but it may help doctors learn how to use sotatercept safely in this group. What are the possible risks? Side effects seen with sotatercept include increase in haemoglobin, low platelets, nosebleeds, telangiectasia (small dilated blood vessels), bleeding, and blood clots. People with Eisenmenger syndrome can have both bleeding (for example, haemoptysis) and clotting risks. The study will check complete blood counts (CBC) regularly and adjust or pause dosing using label-based rules. Other risks are those of standard PAH care and blood tests. Time and location The study is conducted at multiple hospitals in Japan. Study participation lasts about 6 months. Costs and payments The study drug and study-specific tests will be provided at no cost. Usual medical care not required by the study will follow each hospital's standard billing. There is no required payment to join. Any travel reimbursement or stipends will follow site policy. Privacy Your information will be kept confidential. Results will be shared in journals and at meetings without using your name. Who to contact If you are interested or have questions, please contact the study team at the participating hospital.

During critical illness, the heart is exposed to extreme external stressors, which may contribute to heart failure. There is a lack of knowledge of what happens to the heart over the course of critical illness. The few studies available suggest that LV dysfunction is common in critical illness, with a prevalence of 10-30%. Notably, LV regional hypokinesia is a frequent pattern of LV dysfunction among these patients and is associated with a higher risk of death. LV regional hypokinesia during critical illness may have several possible aetiologies, including ischemic, inflammatory or other/mixed processes. Of these, acute coronary artery obstruction is probably most important. Patients with sepsis, for example, and acute ST elevation myocardial infarction have twice the risk of death. Type II myocardial infarction can also lead to LV dysfunction due to insufficient coronary artery flow e.g., from tachycardia, hypotension and hypoxia, resulting in myocardial ischemia. In the absence of CAD, LV regional hypokinesia could also result from myocardial inflammation secondary to systemic inflammatory response, direct toxic effects of cytokines or pathogenic infiltration. Another possible aetiology is Takotsubo syndrome, an acute cardiac condition characterised by reversible regional hypokinesia, usually in the apical portion of the LV. The current paradigm suggests that Takotsubo syndrome is triggered by the overstimulation of the myocardium by catecholamines and is closely correlated to events involving severe emotional or physical stress. Cardiac dysfunction in critical illness is likely a phenotype of Takotsubo syndrome since patients in the ICU undergo extreme stress and are exposed to both endogenously-released and exogenously-administered catecholamines. In critical illness, accurate diagnosis of LV dysfunction is challenging due to the similar clinical presentation of potential aetiologies. However, diagnosing the underlying aetiology of LV dysfunction is essential to provide appropriate treatment and optimise outcomes. CAD can be diagnosed with coronary angiography and cardiac computed tomography (CCT). In the absence of CAD, cMRI is useful. cMRI can differentiate between myocardial ischemia, and inflammation, as well as between an acute or past event. In this study, patients are examined with echocardiography to identify those with cardiac dysfunction. In a sub-set of patients with LV dysfunction, patients will be examined with coronary CT (if no angiography performed) and cardiac MRI. Blood samples are collected for storage in biobank.

After fulfilling the eligibility criteria, informed consent will be obtained from all the patients regarding using data for research while maintaining anonymity.Data will be collected for various patient, system, and procedure related characteristics with the help of a predefined structured proforma consisted of demographic data, clinical presentation, history and co-morbid conditions, and angiographic and procedural characteristics. All the recruited patients will be kept under observiton during the hospital stay and a telephonic follow-up will be carried out after 30-days of discharge and occurrence of the MACE will be recorded. Univariate and multivariable binary logistic regression analysis will be performed to determine the clinical predictors of RVI. Odds ratio (OR) along with 95% confidence interval (CI) will be reported. The statistical significance criteria will be set as p-value\<0.05. For data verification, 10% of the data will be cross-checked with the source document (Patient file).

The goal of this study is to evaluate the effects of steroids on the early postoperative inflammatory response in patients undergoing elective pediatric congenital cardiac surgery, requiring cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).

Rationale: Postoperative survival of patients with dextro transposition of the great arteries (d-TGA), Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) and Truncus Arteriosus (TA) has increased over the last decades due to advances in operative techniques and perioperative care. Despite postoperative survival has increased, morbidity of these patients increases during long-term follow-up with a high need for reinterventions. Right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) obstructions are the most common indication for a reintervention and percutaneous branch pulmonary artery (PA) interventions account for a significant number of these reinterventions. However, the effects of percutaneous branch PA interventions on exercise capacity, RV function and RV adaptation of patients with d-TGA, ToF and TA remains largely unknown. In addition, there is no consensus about the optimal timing for percutaneous interventions for branch PA stenosis in international guidelines. Objective: The primary study objective is to identify the effects of percutaneous interventions for branch PA stenosis on exercise capacity in patients with d-TGA, ToF and TA. The secondary objectives are 1) to assess the effects of percutaneous interventions for branch PA stenosis on RV function and 2) to define early markers for RV function and adaptation to improve timing of these interventions. Study design: This is a multicenter randomized controlled trial. Patients will be included from the following Dutch interventional centers for congenital heart disease: UMC Utrecht/WKZ (sponsor), LUMC/AUMC and Erasmus MC. During this trial there will be two groups: 1. a group of patients with d-TGA, ToF and TA who will undergo a percutaneous intervention for a branch PA stenosis according to standard care (intervention group) and 2. a group of patients with d-TGA, ToF and TA with a similar degree of pulmonary stenosis as group 1 (class IIa indication) who will undergo conservative management for a branch PA stenosis according to standard care (control group). If necessary, the control group will be able to undergo a percutaneous intervention for branch PA stenosis after the examinations at approximately 6 months follow-up, or sooner in case of symptoms. Patients from both groups will undergo the same series of examinations at baseline and approximately 6 months follow-up (within 6 week time-range) as part of standard care: conventional transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE), cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and conventional Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) including a low dose dobutamine stress MRI to assess RV functional reserve. The low dose dobutamine stress MRI will be performed in the interventional group from the UMC Utrecht/WKZ and Erasmus MC because the LUMC and AUMC do not have a suitable infrastructure for the low dose dobutamine stress MRI and this cannot be achieved throughout the duration of this study. The baseline CMR in the interventional group will be performed as close as possible prior to the intervention but maximal 4 weeks prior to the intervention. In addition, the intervention group will undergo standard RV pressure measurements during the intervention. Quality of life (QoL) questionnaires will be obtained at baseline and 2 weeks post intervention (intervention group) or a similar time range in the control group, which is based on experts opinion. TTE, CPET and conventional CMR will be performed within 2-4 years follow-up to assess the long-term effects of percutaneous PA interventions. Study population: d-TGA post ASO, ToF or TA patients ≥8 years old will be included if they have a class IIa indication for a percutaneous intervention for branch PA stenosis according to the international guidelines. Patients will be excluded if they contraindications for one of the examinations. Main study parameters/endpoints: the difference in VO2 max (% predicted) as parameter for exercise capacity between the interventional and control group.

Evaluating preload dependence is crucial for managing fluid administration in septic shock patients. To avoid unnecessary fluid administration, it's recommended to use dynamic tests like the passive leg raising (PLR) maneuver or a fluid challenge (FC) to see if a patient's cardiac output will increase after fluid resuscitation. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is preferred for this because it can non-invasively, reliably, and reproducibly measure the increase in cardiac output. A patient is considered a "responder" if their stroke volume (SV) increases by more than 15% after an FC. Two-dimensional (2D) right atrial strain (RAS) is a promising tool for evaluating right atrial function. According to the Frank-Starling law, measuring changes in the RA reservoir strain phase (RASr) can identify acute changes in preload, like those induced by a PLR maneuver or an FC. The aims of this study are to assess the ability of ∆RASr to identify responders after a fluid challenge (FC) and to evaluate the ability of ∆RASr variation induced by a PLR maneuver to distinguish responders from non-responders to volume expansion.

During the study, blood samples or other healthy tissue will be obtained from participants, as well as medical and family histories. When possible, leftover tumor samples will also be collected. If participants agree to be re-contacted in the future, they will be asked about once each year to update their health information and family history. A blood sample will be drawn at St. Jude or at a convenient place of the participant's choice. Saliva collection will be obtained if a blood draw is not possible. For participants who are present at St. Jude, saliva collection will generally be performed only once using a saliva collection kit. However, if the first collection is not sufficient for protocol required studies, then additional saliva samples may need to be collected, for up to a total of 5 occurrences. For non St. Jude participants, or participants who do not wish or cannot come to St. Jude, saliva will be collected locally and shipped back to the St. Jude. A skin sample will be performed as a source of germline DNA from participants who have undergone an allogeneic bone marrow transplant and do not have a source of pre-transplant DNA available. A skin sample will only be obtained one time. The biological samples will be stored in the St. Jude Biorepository. The DNA of the samples will be studied to determine if there are changes in specific genes that might explain the cancers in the participant or their family members. When available, and if consent is given by the participant, previously collected and stored leftover tumor samples, bone marrow samples or stored DNA may be analyzed. Genetic variants of interest include: 1) mutations in known genes that may have escaped detection through prior clinical genetic testing; 2) coding mutations predicted to disrupt protein function, particularly in genes and pathways known to be associated with cancer; 3) potential mutations in regulatory regions of the genome, as predicted by epigenetic studies. In some cases, individuals with known predisposing mutations exhibit milder, more severe or atypical phenotypes. Family members who harbor a predisposing mutation but are discordant for a cancer phenotype will be selected for cellular and genetic studies. These will include DNA sequencing and possibly also creation and analysis of induce pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), transcriptome or epigenetic analysis. All samples will be identified by a code after removal of all personal identifiable information. Samples will remain in the repository for current and future study.

This study is an investigator-initiated, open label, prospective, multi-centre, phase 2, randomized control trial. This CRAVE feasibility trial will seek to establish the feasibility of a larger platform trial for testing multiple interventions in various domains to improve right ventricular function. In this feasibility trial, 30 participants with pulmonary hypertension and right heart failure with be randomized 1:1:1 to empagliflozin 10 mg daily + standard of care, ranolazine twice daily + standard of care, or standard of care alone. Participant outcomes (medical records review) will be followed for 16 weeks after randomization.

This study plans to learn more about heart function among individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In particular, the investigators want to understand the different patterns of right ventricular response to pulmonary hypertension (high pressure in the lungs) during rest and exercise. By identifying patterns of right ventricular dysfunction, this study will help identify better treatments for patients with COPD in the future.

To capture observational data of the Abiomed Impella RP Flex in a real-world setting.