Clinical Trials

1. The primary purpose of this study is to assess the comparative effectiveness of the following 4 approaches to promote high-quality SDM for at-risk patients with AF:  a PDA alone, (2) an EDA alone, (3) a combination of a PDA and an EDA, and (4) control with neither a PDA nor an EDA.

The purpose of this study is to compare the Sentinel® Cerebral Protection System to the standard of care (no cerebral protection) in patients undergoing atrial fibrillation (AF) catheter ablation.

The purpose of this study is to determine and compare the safety and efficacy of transcutaneous afferent patterned stimulation (TAPS) and respiratory-gated auricular vagal afferent nerve stimulation (RAVANS) therapies for the reduction of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) burden.

The objective of this trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of left atrial appendage exclusion (LAAE) for the prevention of ischemic stroke or systemic arterial embolism in subjects undergoing cardiac surgery who have risk factors for atrial fibrillation and ischemic stroke.

The purpose of this study is to assess termination of atrial fibrillation (AF) following delivery of cold treatment to the oblique sinus using an experimental cooling module.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate stellate ganglion blockade with local anesthetic intraoperatively to reduce the development of postoperative atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation is an important postoperative complication following cardiac surgery despite many attempts to reduce the incidence. Temporary stellate ganglion blockade reduces ventricular arrythmias in various circumstances with animal and early human data also showing an effect on the development of atrial fibrillation. The duration of arrythmia control outlasts the expected duration of local anesthetic effect by a significant duration.  Stellate ganglion blockade has potential for great impact reducing the burden of POAF including large cost savings, reduction in hospital length of stay, and improvement in quality of life via reduction of large degree of morbidity. If effective, this could revolutionize cardiac surgery care.

The purpose of this study is to explain the functional change mechanism linking right atrial (RA) hypertension, right heart (RH) remodeling and onset of symptoms such as arrhythmias and impaired aerobic capacity, since symptomatic status is a risk factor for mortality in the Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) population.

The postnatal diagnosis of Long QT Syndrome (LQTS) is suggested by a prolonged QT interval on 12 lead electrocardiogram (ECG),a positive family history and/or characteristic arrhythmias and confirmed by genetic testing.  LQTS testing cannot be performed successfully before birth as   fetal ECG is not possible and direct measure of the fetal QT interval by magnetocardiography is limited. Genetic testing can be performed in utero, but there is risk to the pregnancy and the fetus. Although some fetuses present with arrhythmias easily recognized as LQTS (torsade des pointes (TdP) and/or 2° atrioventricular (AV) block, this is uncommon, occurring in <25% of fetal LQTS cases. Rather, the most common presentation of fetal LQTS is sinus bradycardia, a subtle rhythm disturbance that often is unappreciated to be abnormal. Consequently, the majority of LQTS cases are unsuspected and undiagnosed during fetal life, with dire consequences. For example, maternal medications commonly used during pregnancy can prolong the fetal QT interval and may provoke lethal fetal ventricular arrhythmias. But the most significant consequence is the missed opportunity for primary prevention of life threatening ventricular arrhythmias after birth because the infant is not suspected to have LQTS before birth. The over-arching goal of the study is to overcome the barriers to prenatal detection of LQTS. The investigators plan to do so by developing an algorithm using fetal heart rate (FHR) which will discriminate fetuses with or without LQTS. Immediate Goal: The investigators propose a multicenter pre-birth observational cohort study to develop a Fetal Heart Rate (FHR)/Gestational Age (GA) algorithm from a cohort of fetuses recruited from 13 national and international centers where one parent is known by prior genetic testing to have a mutation in one of the common LQTS genes: potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily Q member 1 (KCNQ1), potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily H member 2 (KCNH2), or sodium voltage-gated channel alpha subunit 5 (SCN5A). The investigators have chosen this population because 1) These mutations are the most common genetic causes of LQTS, and 2) Offspring will have high risk of LQTS as inheritance of these LQTS gene mutations is autosomal dominant. Thus, progeny of parents with a known mutation are at high (50%) risk of having the same parental LQTS mutation. The algorithm will be developed using FHR measured serially throughout pregnancy. All offspring will undergo postnatal genetic testing for the parental mutation as the gold standard for diagnosing the presence or absence of LQTS.

The purpose of this study is to compare the rate of arrhythmia-induced events between paediatric Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia (CPVT) patients with and without implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICDs), and to determine the quality of life and psychosocial functioning of paediatric CPVT patients with and without ICDs.

The purpose of this study is to verify that high Premature Ventricular Complex (PVC) burden is associated with increased risk of stroke and/or Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), to examine outcomes such as stroke/TIA, atrial fibrillation/flutter, and all-cause mortality associated with PVCs, and to evaluate whether PVCs are associated with development of appendage dysfunction.