Clinical Trials

Has your doctor recommended right heart cardiac catheterization for you? This study is investigating new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques that use a guidewire to help position a heart catheter within the heart. MRI fluoroscopy shows pictures of the heart so that doctors can watch while they work. Using the guidewire during MRI may improve the procedure of heart catheterization. To participate in this study, you must be at least 18 years old, and your doctor must have recommended right heart catheterization for you. This study is located in Bethesda, Maryland.

Are you an adult who does not have high blood pressure and is interested in research? This study will investigate how the brain regulates the body’s response to stress and how infection with HIV or pre-hypertension affects regulation. Your heart and brain activity will be measured while you are at rest, during a mentally stressful task, and while you feel angry. The study will also test whether a breathing exercise improves regulation. People with and without HIV and pre-hypertension will be included. To participate in this study, you must be between 21 and 65 years old and not have high blood pressure. This study is located in Miami, Florida.

Are you in need of a heart or lung transplant or have you had one in the past 3 months? Have you undergone a lung or heart transplant in the past 3 months or are you a candidate for heart or lung transplant? Some people with advanced heart and lung disease have heart and lung transplants but these new organs are often rejected. When this happens, patients must have repeated biopsies, which are invasive and expensive. Researchers in this clinical study want to see if a blood test can predict organ rejection and take the place of biopsies. To participate, you must be 18 to 80 years old and be a candidate for heart or lung transplant or have had a heart or lung transplant no more than three months ago. The study is taking place in Bethesda, Maryland, at the NIH Clinical Center, as well as in Baltimore, Maryland, and Falls Church, Virginia.

Do you or your child have dyslipidemia? This study is exploring how different diagnostic tests can help us understand how lipid disorders, including high blood cholesterol and high blood triglycerides, affect the body. Information from this study may help improve the way lipid disorders are diagnosed or treated in the future. Participants in this study must be at least 2 years old. The study is being conducted in Bethesda, Maryland.

Are you an adult who is healthy or has problems with the level of cholesterol or other lipids in the blood? This study is gathering information on the risk factors for very high or very low levels of lipids, or fats, in the blood. Researchers will collect participants’ demographic information, medical history, and blood samples. To participate in this study, you must be at least 18 years old. This study takes place in Dallas, Texas.

Do you have a high-risk pregnancy? This study will investigate the use of a non-invasive scan called fetal magnetocardiography to detect potential problems in the fetus in five high-risk pregnancy conditions associated with stillbirth. The scan is normally used to look at fetal heart rhythms. To participate in this study, you must be at least 18 years old and pregnant with one of the following: having a stillbirth in a previous pregnancy, carrying identical twins, or having a fetus that has been diagnosed with major congenital heart disease, fetal hydrops, or fetal gastroschisis. This study takes place in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Are you a woman who is postmenopausal or a man older than 65? This study will investigate the effects of oral progesterone for older women and testosterone for older men on QT intervals. QT intervals that are increased by medicine can lead to dangerous heart rhythm problems. Researchers hope to learn more about why this happens and how to deliver safer doses. This study is located in Indianapolis, Indiana.