Purpose

The goal of this mechanistic clinical trial is to learn about the effects of medications called soluble guanylyl cyclase stimulators on vascular function and markers of kidney and brain injury in patients having heart surgery. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Does soluble guanylyl cyclase stimulation improve blood vessel function compared to placebo? 2. Does soluble guanylyl cyclase stimulation decrease markers of kidney injury and brain injury compared to placebo? Participants will be randomized to a soluble guanylyl cyclase stimulator called vericiguat or placebo, and researchers will compare vascular function and markers of brain and kidney injury to see if vericiguat improves vascular function and reduces markers of injury. This will provide important information to determine the underlying reasons that patients have some kidney and brain function problems after having heart surgery.

Conditions

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Over 18 Years
Eligible Genders
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  1. Age ≥18 years 2. Elective open-heart surgery, defined as surgery on the heart or aorta that requires sternotomy or thoracotomy

Exclusion Criteria

  1. Intolerance to vericiguat 2. Use of other soluble guanylyl cyclase stimulators or current use of phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors 3. Pregnancy or breast feeding. Pregnancy will be excluded in women of child-bearing potential by a urine or serum beta hcg test 4. Renal replacement therapy within 30 days prior to screening 5. Estimated glomerular filtration rate <15 ml/min per 1.73 m2 per Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation at time of screening 6. Systolic blood pressure less than 120 mmHg at the time of screening 7. Prior kidney transplantation 8. History of significant liver dysfunction (defined as Child-Pugh class C) 9. Surgery scheduled to be performed with circulatory arrest 10. Surgery scheduled to correct a major congenital heart defect 11. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) prior to surgery 12. Active systemic infection or surgery for infectious endocarditis 13. Ventricular assist device or intraaortic balloon pump support prior to surgery 14. Prisoners

Study Design

Phase
Phase 4
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Primary Purpose
Basic Science
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Active Comparator
Vericiguat
10 mg vericiguat administered orally once daily for three days (through day of surgery)
  • Drug: Vericiguat
    Vericiguat 10 mg administered orally starting 2 days prior to heart surgery through the day of surgery
Placebo Comparator
Placebo
placebo administered orally once daily for three days (through day of surgery)
  • Drug: Placebo
    Matched placebo administered orally starting 2 days prior to heart surgery through the day of surgery

Recruiting Locations

Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, Tennessee 37204
Contact:
Marcos G Lopez, MD
615-936-5894
marcos.g.lopez@vumc.org

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Study Contact

Detailed Description

Patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery will be randomized to the soluble guanylyl cyclase stimulator vericiguat versus placebo before surgery through the day of surgery and vascular function will be quantified using ultrasound and direct assessment of arterial relaxation ex-vivo. Markers of brain and kidney injury will be measured in plasma and urine.

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.