Cardiothoracic Surgery
UVA Selected for NIH Clinical Trials Network
The University of Virginia Health System is one of only nine academic medical centers – and the only one in Virginia – selected for the new National Institutes of Health-funded Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network. The network is now enrolling volunteers for its first two trials, both examining heart valve repair:
- Leaking mitral valve repairs and coronary artery bypass grafts (CABG): this trial will examine whether a leaking mitral valve should be repaired during CABG, or if CABG alone is sufficient to strengthen the heart.
- Repairing mitral valve regurgitation stemming from a myocardial infarction: this trial will examine whether outcomes are better when the mitral valve is repaired or replaced.
UVA was chosen from among approximately 50 applicants to participate in the network, says surgeon Irving Kron, M.D. “We’re delighted to be part of this pioneering effort from the NIH,” Kron says.
The clinical trials at UVA will be a collaborative, multidisciplinary effort among healthcare professionals from several departments, including cardiologists, surgeons, neuropsychologists, stroke neurologists and biostatisticians. UVA will also partner with Carilion Clinic and Inova Health System on this project to get patients entered into the trials. Together with the surgical outcomes, the trials will also assess neurological and cognitive outcomes for patients from these trials.
“We’re going to answer important questions in cardiovascular surgery that we can generalize to the entire population,” says neurologist Karen Johnston, M.D., M.Sc. “When we answer these questions, patients will get better treatment.”
Future trials will examine the best methods for treating atrial fibrillation during heart valve repair as well as focus more directly on the neurological and cognitive outcomes from cardiothoracic surgical procedures.
To refer a patient for one of these clinical trials, call UVA Physician Direct at 800.552.3723.
