Clinical Trials

Have you been diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy and are within 5 months of your due date? This study is evaluating the effectiveness of a medicine called bromocriptine to treat peripartum cardiomyopathy, or weakness of the heart muscle that occurs during or shortly after pregnancy. To participate in this study, you must be at least 18 years old, diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy, and within 5 months of your delivery date. This study takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Have you recently been diagnosed with Takotsubo Syndrome? This study aims to investigate the short- and long-term effects of takotsubo syndrome, sometimes referred to as broken heart syndrome. Usually, takotsubo syndrome is a temporary heart condition that is caused by either emotional or physical stress. To participate in this study, you must have a new diagnosis of takotsubo syndrome and be at least 18 years old. This study takes place in Providence, Rhode Island.

Are you 75 years old or older and interested in participating in a clinical trial where researchers are studying whether statins, which are often used to treat high cholesterol, can help improve heart and brain health. To participate, you cannot have cardiovascular disease or dementia. The study is taking place at locations in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Puerto Rico.

Are you an adult with obesity and at high risk of heart and blood vessel disease? This study is testing a new program to help people who have obesity stick to their healthy eating plan. Researchers from this study are developing a program that will predict when participants are most likely to stop making healthy food choices and will send messages to remind participants of their weight loss goals. To participate in this study, you must be 18 to 70 years old, have overweight or obesity, and be at high risk of heart and blood vessel diseases. This study takes place in Providence, Rhode Island.

The study is to investigate that the worsening orthostatic tachycardia and symptoms after glucose ingestion in POTS patients are due to a greater increase in splanchnic venous capacitance and excessive blood pooling during an orthostatic challenge.

The investigators propose to study the relationship between right ventricle (RV) steatosis and RV function, exercise capacity, and outcomes in humans with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and to identify potential drivers of lipid accumulation.

The Investigators propose a randomized trial of smart texts versus usual care for 6 months. The Investigators will randomize 100 PAH patients to the mHealth intervention or usual care. The Investigators will test the effect of a text-based mHealth intervention on HRQOL in PAH using the PAH-specific emPHasis-10 questionnaire. The Investigators will also test the effect of an mHealth intervention on exercise capacity, measured by a supervised home-based 6MWD test. Finally, the Investigators will examine the effect of the intervention on time to clinical worsening (composite of PAH therapy escalation, PAH hospitalization, and death) one year after randomization.

The investigators propose to study the relationship between right ventricle (RV) steatosis and RV function, exercise capacity, and outcomes in humans with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and to identify potential drivers of lipid accumulation.

Patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) have reduced health related quality of life (HRQOL) and impaired exercise capacity. Despite fourteen approved therapies, most patients die within ten years. Increasing physical activity is highly efficacious in PAH, resulting in six-minute walk distance (6MWD) and HRQOL improvement that often exceeds the effect of medications. Prior activity studies required inpatient rehabilitation, which is impractical, hard to sustain, and poorly scalable to a rare disease.

The Investigators propose a randomized trial of smart texts versus usual care for 6 months. The Investigators will randomize 100 PAH patients to the mHealth intervention or usual care. The Investigators will test the effect of a text-based mHealth intervention on HRQOL in PAH using the PAH-specific emPHasis-10 questionnaire. The Investigators will also test the effect of an mHealth intervention on exercise capacity, measured by a supervised home-based 6MWD test. Finally, the Investigators will examine the effect of the intervention on time to clinical worsening (composite of PAH therapy escalation, PAH hospitalization, and death) one year after randomization.

The investigators' central hypothesis is that early combination therapy with two PAH-specific oral therapies that have been shown to be well tolerated in the pediatric population, sildenafil and bosentan, will result in better World Health Organization (WHO) functional class at 12 months after initiation of PAH treatment than therapy with sildenafil alone.