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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
VEGF-Clinical trials?
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve Prolapse, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests.
VEGF-Clinical trials?
by An__0__0, Nov 22, 1998 12:00AM
Hi, can you tell me if VEGf-gene therapy-is now in clinical trials or when it might be? I am also wondering if I might be a candidate.
I am 42 years old, had a heart attack 3 1/2 years ago, have had angioplasty every 4-5 months since then, as well as multiple atherectomies for restenosis, 13 stents, external beam radiation (October 1995) and most recently, October 2nd of this year, internal radiation with irradiated seeds. Although we are hoping that this last procedure will finally stop the growth of scar tissue, I am STILL having chronic angina - even when the vessel (LAD) is wide open. Because of this continued pain, I had a cardiolite stress test with adenosine done in mid-October which still shows ischemia in the mid-to-proximal area of the vessel. Based on this, I underwent ANOTHER left heart cath on October 30th to determine if there was a problem with my most recent procedure and my doctor found nothing wrong.
At this point I am interested in finding out what I can about this new therapy for chest pain. I believe about 25% of my heart muscle is still non-functioning and of course would love it if there were some way to help bring a little more of it back and possibly stop the angina.
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Dear Ann,
Thank you for your question. We do have a VEGF- DNA trial underway here. The primary investigator is Dr. Stephen Ellis. It is called the VEGF trial and involves the direct application of DNA to diseased coronary arteries. The inclusion requirements are as follows: 1. At least 20% reversible ischemia on PET or thallium scan. 2. Heart cath within the last 6 months. 3. No cancer. 4. No retinopathy (eye disorder). 5. Ejection fraction of at least 25%.
If you meet these criteria or you have additional questions contact Cathy Comella at (216) 444-0053. The study is almost completed so if you are interested in participating you should call at once. There may be additional studies in the future that you may qualify for if this one does not work out.
I hope you find this information useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only. Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.
