Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio

To verify the efficacy of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) on and autonomic balance in patients with chronic heart failure and reduced (HFrEF) or mildly reduced (HFmrEF) left ventricular ejection fraction. The study hypothesis is that tVNS increases baroreflex gain, with consequent benefits on sympathovagal balance (at short- and mid-term), and on quality of life and bio-humoral parameters (at mid-term).

Current medical treatments, in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD), mainly target established risk factors and are able to reduce morbidity and mortality but still leave a substantial residual risk of coronary artery disease progression and events. The main hypothesis of this study is that metabolic derangement, including pre-diabetes, elevated levels of triglycerides, low levels and functionality of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, often associated with a chronic inflammatory state, is a currently unrecognized and undertreated conditon which could be the most relevant determinant of residual risk.
The goal of HURRICANE observational study is to discover specific individual genetic/molecular profiles subtending emerging cardiometabolic and vascular risk patterns and associating with a more severe and progressive coronary artery disease. We will thus develop and preliminary validate new predictive models for the recognition of high-risk patients and explore possible new targets for individualized preventive treatment.
The severity, extent and progression of coronary plaques will be assessed by qualitative and quantitative analysis of cardiac computed tomography (CCT) performed in retrospective and prospective cohorts of patients with stable coronary disease.