A heart attack happens when a blocked artery cuts off blood to part of the heart muscle, causing tissue damage. About 805,000 Americans have a heart attack each year. Treatment focuses on opening the blocked artery quickly, then preventing future events with medications and lifestyle changes.
What's actually going on in research
Trials are testing drugs that limit heart damage during and after a heart attack, new antiplatelet agents that prevent clots without increasing bleeding risk, and therapies to help damaged heart muscle regenerate. Researchers are also studying ways to predict who's at highest risk and intervene earlier, including trials of PCSK9 inhibitors and anti-inflammatory drugs like colchicine.
Cardioprotective drugs
Several trials are testing drugs given during or immediately after a heart attack to reduce the amount of muscle that dies. These include repurposed diabetes medications and drugs that target inflammation.
Regenerative medicine
Studies are exploring whether stem cells, growth factors, or gene therapies can help heart muscle repair itself after damage. Early trials have shown some promise in improving heart function.
Personalized prevention
Trials are testing genetic testing and biomarkers to identify people at very high risk before a first heart attack. The goal is to use intensive prevention strategies only for those who need them most.
What to know before you search
Eligibility typically depends on how recent the heart attack was, extent of heart damage, other cardiovascular conditions, and current medications like blood thinners.
What types of trials are currently open
- Acute treatment trials — Testing new drugs or procedures given during a heart attack to restore blood flow faster or protect heart muscle from damage.
- Prevention trials — Testing medications or lifestyle interventions to prevent a second heart attack in people who've already had one.
- Recovery trials — Studies of cardiac rehabilitation programs, exercise regimens, and therapies to improve heart function after a heart attack.
- Regenerative trials — Testing stem cells, gene therapy, or other approaches that might help damaged heart tissue heal or regenerate.
- Device trials — Testing new stents, imaging technologies, or heart pumps that support recovery after severe heart attacks.
Recently added Myocardial Infarction trials
Implementing the 6th Generation Cardiac Troponin T
This study will test how a new blood test for troponin T can be introduced into routine hospital care in Denmark and Norway. The study will look at whether the new test helps doctors assess and treat patients with possible heart problems more effectively and safely.
Cardiopulmonary Exercise Active Health Cohort Study
This is a multicenter, prospective, observational cohort study. Study participants will first be enrolled into the general population main cohort, and some eligible subjects will be invited to participate in a validation study for the consistency of estimated VO₂max. The overall study consists of the establishment of the main cohort and three major research modules: cardiovascular endpoint risk prediction, early warning of exercise-related cardiovascular event risk, and health reminder and behavioral feedback. In addition, a substudy is designed to enroll 300 patients with stable metabolic cardiovascular disease, aiming to verify the consistency between wearable-device-estimated maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max) and the gold standard of Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET), so as to evaluate the applicability and error structure of the device-estimated parameters in clinical populations.
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