Hypertension Paid Clinical Trials in Maryland

It is unknown if obesity contributes to the development of heart disease in African American men and women. This study was created to determine whether there is a relationship between sex and body size and the incidence of heart disease in African American men and women. Researchers will attempt to associate obesity with the presence of heart disease risk factors. Risk factors that will be studied include; total body fat, body fat distribution, fat content of the blood (triglyceride concentration, low density lipoproteins \[LDL\], and high density lipoproteins \[HDL\]), how fast fat is removed from the blood, and how well insulin works in the body. Scientific studies have shown that obesity and increased levels of fat content in the blood are important risk factors for heart disease in Caucasian women. However, similar studies in African American women have failed to show the same correlation. In fact, it appears that African American women in all three body weight groupings, nonobese, overweight, and obese experience high death rates due to heart disease. In addition, prior research has shown that obese African American men tend to have elevated levels of fat in the blood while African American women have normal blood fat levels. Therefore, if high levels of triglycerides (fat found in the blood) are not seen in non-diabetic obese African American women, it cannot be considered a risk factor in this population. This suggests that studies conducted on Caucasian women may not provide insight into heart disease risk factors in African American women. The study will take 2000 healthy non-diabetic African American men and women (ages 18-70) and body mass index 3 subgroups; nonobese, overweight and obese. Diabetes undeniably increases the risk of heart disease. Therefore patients suffering from diabetes will not be included in the study. Candidates for the study will undergo a series of tests and examinations over 2 outpatient visits. Subjects will have body fat analyses, resting energy expenditure measurements, an EKG (electrocardiogram), and specific blood tests. Researchers believe this study will provide significant insight into the causes of obesity and heart disease in African Americans.... Read Less

Background: - High blood pressure in the lungs, known as pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), is a rare disorder. In spite of recent advances in treatment, the death rate remains unacceptably high. Lung blood vessel function can be harmed by progressive injuries, such as inflammation, leading to worsening of the disease. A drug called spironolactone has been known to improve blood vessel function and reduce inflammation. Some people with PAH take spironolactone to help treat fluid retention. However, its effect on inflammation and blood vessel function in patients with PAH is not known. Researchers want to see if spironolactone can help these conditions in people with PAH. Objectives: - To test the effectiveness of spironolactone in treating pulmonary arterial hypertension. Eligibility: - Individuals at least 18 years of age with pulmonary arterial hypertension. Design: * This study will last for 24 weeks. Participants will be screened with a physical exam and medical history. Blood and urine samples will be collected. * Participants will take either spironolactone or a placebo. They will take their study drug or placebo for 7 weeks. Treatment will be monitored with regular blood tests. * In Week 8, participants who have had no reaction to the treatment will receive a higher dose of the drug or placebo. * In Week 12, participants will have a study visit with heart and lung function tests. They will also have a 6-minute walk test, and provide blood and urine samples. * After additional study visits for blood samples, participants will have a final visit in Week 24. The tests from Week 12 will be repeated at this visit. Read Less

Background: - High blood pressure in the lungs, known as pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), is a rare disorder. Some people have disease-associated PAH and some have PAH from an unknown cause. Researchers want to follow the natural history of all PAH patients to understand how PAH progresses in order to discover targets for future research into new treatments. To further identify treatment targets, they will compare healthy volunteers to patients with PAH. Objectives: - To study the natural history of PAH. Eligibility: * Individuals at least 18 years of age who have PAH. * Healthy volunteers at least 18 years of age. Design: * Participants with PAH will have periodic visits to the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. After the first visit, they will return in 6 months and then yearly or every other year for as long as the study continues. * The first visit will take up to 3 days. It will involve the following tests: * Physical exam and medical history * Blood and urine samples * Heart and lung function tests and imaging studies * Six-minute walk test * Questions about exercise and physical activity * Healthy volunteers will have only one visit to the Clinical Center, during which they will undergo screening tests, and complete many of the same tests as patients with PAH Read Less

Background: Childhood-onset essential hypertension (COEH) is high blood pressure that develops in children and teens. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease. COEH is more likely to be caused by changes in genes rather than by factors like stress or diet. Researchers want to learn more about how changes in genes relate to COEH. They hope to use that information to develop better treatments for children with high blood pressure. Objective: This natural history study will look for genes and gene changes that may lead to COEH. Eligibility: People aged 2 years and older with COEH or who had COEH when they were children. Healthy relatives of those with COEH are also needed. Design: Participants will have one clinic visit per year for up to 10 years. All participants will have a physical exam. They will provide samples of blood and urine. At their first visit, they will have a swab (like a Q-tip) rubbed between their gums and cheeks. They may agree to having a skin biopsy; a piece of skin about the size of a pencil eraser will be removed. Affected participants aged 2 to 17 years old will have additional tests: * They will have sensors placed on their skin to look at their blood vessels and see how blood is moving in their bodies. * They will lie or stand while a machine measures the amount of fat and muscle in their bodies. * They will have an ultrasound; a wand will be rubbed against their skin to take pictures of their kidneys. Other things are optional for all participants: * They may have photographs taken of their bodies. * They may have tests of their heart function. * They may have different types of imaging scans. Read Less

Background: A heart catheterization is a diagnostic heart procedure used to measure pressures and take pictures of the blood flow through the heart chambers. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) fluoroscopy shows continuous pictures of the heart chambers that doctors can watch while they work. Researchers want to test this procedure with catheterization tools routinely used in x-ray catheterization called guidewires. Guidewires will help move the heart catheter through the different heart chambers. Guidewires are usually considered unsafe during MRI because MRI can cause a guidewire to heat while inside the blood vessels and heart. Researchers are testing special low energy MRI settings that allow certain guidewires to be used during MRI catheterization without heating. Using these guidewires during MRI may help to decrease the amount of time you are in the MRI scanner, and the overall time the MRI catheterization procedure takes. Objectives: To test if certain MRI settings make it safe to use a guidewire during MRI fluoroscopy. Eligibility: Adults 18 and older whose doctors have recommended right heart catheterization. Design: Researchers will screen participants by reviewing their lab results and questionnaire answers. Participants may give 4 blood samples. Participants will be sedated. They will have a tube (catheter) placed in the groin, arm, or neck if they don t already have one. Patches on the skin will monitor heart rhythm. Special antennas, covered in pads, will be placed against the body. Participants will lie flat on a table that slides in and out of the MRI scanner as it makes pictures. Participants will get earplugs for the loud knocking noise. They can talk on an intercom. They will be inside the scanner for up to 2 hours. They can ask to stop at any time. During a heart catheterization, catheters will be inserted through the tubes already in place. The catheters are guided by MRI fluoroscopy into the chambers of the heart and vessels. The guidewire will help position the catheter. Read Less

This study is being conducted to assess the long-term safety, tolerability, and efficacy of sotatercept (MK-7962, formerly called ACE-011) in participants with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH). This open-label, long-term follow-up (LTFU) study is supported by data from the PULSAR study (Phase 2, NCT03496207) in which treatment with sotatercept resulted in hemodynamic and functional improvements in the study participants, including those receiving maximal PAH therapy with double/triple drug combinations and intravenous prostacyclin. The primary objective of this open-label, LTFU study is to evaluate the long-term safety and tolerability of sotatercept when added to background PAH therapy in adult participants with PAH who have completed prior sotatercept studies. The secondary objective is to evaluate continued efficacy in adult participants with PAH who have completed prior sotatercept studies. Read Less

Right ventricular (RV) failure is recognized to worsen patient outcomes in the setting of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF)-related pulmonary hypertension (PH), yet the investigators fall short in trying to identify and treat it. The current proposal will (1) determine the best clinical indicators of intrinsic RV myocyte contractile failure in humans with HFrEF-PH, (2) clarify underlying mechanisms, and (3) test novel treatments on RV myocytes. The long-term goal of this proposal will be to better identify and treat RV failure in humans suffering from HFrEF-PH. Read Less

Background: The adrenal gland makes the hormone aldosterone. This helps regulate blood pressure. An adrenal gland tumor that makes too much aldosterone can cause high blood pressure and low potassium. The cause of these tumors is unknown, but sometimes they are inherited. Objective: To study the genes that may cause primary aldosteronism in Black individuals. Eligibility: People ages 18-70 who: Are Black, African American, or of Caribbean descent And have difficult to control blood pressure or primary aldosteronism Relatives of people with primary aldosteronism Design: Participants who are relatives of people with primary aldosteronism will have only 1 visit, with medical history and blood tests. Participants with primary aldosteronism or difficult to control blood pressure (suspected to possibly have primary aldosteronism) will be screened with a 1-2 hour visit. If they qualify, they will return for a hospital stay for 7-10 days. Tests may include: Medical history Physical exam Blood tests: Participants will have a small tube (IV catheter) inserted in a vein in the arm. They may drink a glucose-containing liquid or get a salt solution. If medically indicated, they may have invasive blood tests with a separate consent. Urine tests: Some require a high-salt diet for 3 days. Heart tests Scans: Participants lie in a machine that takes pictures of the body. A dye may be injected through a vein. Small hair sample taken from near the scalp. Kidney ultrasound Bone density scan: Participants lie on a table while a camera passes over the body. If the doctors feel it is medically necessary, they will offer participants treatment depending on their results. These treatments may cure the patient of their disease and may include: 1. Having one adrenal gland removed by the Endocrine surgeon under anesthesia. Patients will have follow-up visits 2-4 weeks after surgery. 2. Taking drugs to block the effects of aldosterone Participants may return about 1 year later to repeat testing. Read Less

The purpose of this single-arm interventional study is to evaluate the long-term safety, efficacy, and durability of the Symplicity Spyral system in subjects treated with renal denervation. Additionally, long-term follow-up data will also be collected from eligible subjects previously treated in the SPYRAL PIVOTAL-SPYRAL HTN-OFF MED and SPYRAL HTN-ON MED studies. Read Less

This is an ongoing, prospective cohort study of children and young adults who are evaluated in the Reversing the Negative Effects of Weight on the Heart (ReNEW) Clinic at Johns Hopkins University. Demographic and clinical data of patients who agree to participate are obtained via chart review and entered into a longitudinal clinic registry. Read Less

Patients are being asked to be in this research study because medical researchers hope that by gathering information about a large number of children with pulmonary hypertension over time, their understanding of the disease process will increase and lead to better treatment. Investigators believe that pulmonary hypertension in children is different than pulmonary hypertension in adults and this study will help us understand those differences. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to measure the efficacy and safety of baxdrostat/dapagliflozin in participants ≥ 18 years of age with CKD and HTN. This study consists of a screening, a 4-week dapagliflozin run-in period for participants naïve to SGLT2i at baseline; a 24-month double-blind period in which participants will receive either baxdrostat/dapagliflozin or dapagliflozin; and a 6-week open-label period in which all participants will discontinue baxdrostat/placebo and receive dapagliflozin alone. Site visits will take place at 2-, 4-, 8-, and 16- weeks following randomisation. Thereafter visits will occur approximately every 4 months, until the 24-month visit at which time baxdrostat/placebo will be discontinued. Participants will continue open-label dapagliflozin for another 6-weeks (approximately), where reassessment of GFR will occur for the primary efficacy endpoint. In the event of premature discontinuation of blinded study intervention, participants will continue in the study and receive open-label dapagliflozin monotherapy, unless the participant meets dapagliflozin specific discontinuation criteria, in which case all study interventions will be discontinued. Read Less