Heart Failure Study: The Atlanta Cardiomyopathy Consortium (TACC)

Emory University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Heart Failure

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT00599014

IRB00005380

Details and patient eligibility

About

Heart failure is a very common cause of hospital admission and there are half a million new cases diagnosed each year in the United States. While some important progress has been made over the last two decades for the treatment of heart failure, there still remains a critical need for further advances in our understanding of this disease in order to significantly improve patient outcomes. Large numbers of heart failure patients need to be studied over time to allow scientists to investigate those factors that influence the responses to therapy.

Full description

In this study information will be collected on patients with heart failure and their progress and outcomes will be followed over time. The aim is to understand the natural history, risk factors for improvement or progression, and determinants of response to therapy for heart failure. Of interest are many aspects of heart failure including genetic influences, quality of life issues, how individuals cope with feelings about having heart disease, and how they manage their day-to-day symptoms etc.. A database will be created of approximately 1,000 heart failure patients from Emory, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Wesley Woods, Grady, and the VA Medical Center.

This is strictly an observational study and subjects will not be receiving any experimental therapy nor will their routine medical care be affected in any way. Data to be collected includes:

1. Medical history of the patient
2. Medical history on the patient's family
3. Survey data including health behaviors & psychosocial variables
4. Blood & urine samples
5. EKG
6. Six minute Walk Test
7. Hand grip strength

After collecting data, a variety of statistical tests will be run to analyze factors that influence heart failure patients' responses to treatment. The results of this analysis will be used to optimize therapy for future heart failure patients.

Enrollment: 335 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Age: 18 years and over
• Sex: Both
• Ethnic Origin: All
• Diagnosis required to participate: Clinical diagnosis of systolic or diastolic heart failure

Exclusion criteria

• Congenital heart disease
• Previous heart transplantation
• No primary infiltrative disease i.e. amyloidosis