Identifying Markers of Exercise Training in Heart Failure (NCT05696652)
🩺 Plain-English Summary (8th-Grade Level)
The heart failure syndrome that occurs when the heart is too sick to properly do its job. One of the main symptoms is difficulty with exercise. One way to improve symptoms is to start patients in a 12 week exercise program called cardiac rehabilitation. Cardiac rehabilitation been shown to improve symptoms for heart failure patients. However, the investigators do not know exactly what exercise does to the molecules that make up the human body. If the investigators could answer this question, the investigators might find a whole new way to treat the symptoms of heart failure. Therefore the investigators want to know what molecules might be responsible for the benefits of exercise. The plan for this study is to measure the levels of thousands of proteins in blood samples which come from people with heart failure and see how those levels change after 12 weeks of cardiac rehabilitation, compared to the protein levels in patients whose cardiac rehabilitation is delayed until after the study period. If the investigators know the proteins that change with exercise, the investigators can then look to see if targeting these proteins with medicines can mimic the benefits of exercise. The long term goal of our work is to identify "exercise-in-a-pill" medicines that will help people with heart failure.
Who can join: To join this study, participants generally need to meet the listed inclusion criteria (7 items) and avoid the listed exclusions (57 items).
Location: Stanford Health Care — Stanford, California
📋 "Do I Qualify?" — 1-Minute Self Screener
Instant ChecklistCheck every box below. If you can check all of them, you may meet the study's basic screening requirements (final eligibility is confirmed by the site team).
Usually NOT eligible if any of the following apply:
- Exclusion Criteria:
- Inability to complete CPET or participate in CR (verbal/chart)
- Syncope during CPET within the last 6 mos, sustained VT on CPET, hemodynamically significant arrhythmia during CPET (verbal/chart)
- BMI \>= 38 (verbal/chart)
- History of a bleeding disorder or clotting abnormality (verbal/chart)
- Clinical diagnosis of severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) (verbal/chart)
- History of malignancy not considered in remission (verbal/chart)
- Cirrhosis (verbal/chart)
- Thyroid disease (verbal/chart)
- Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) value outside of the normal range for the laboratory within the last 1 year
- Individuals with hypothyroidism may be referred to their primary care provider (PCP) for evaluation and retested; any medication change must be stable for ≥3 months prior to retesting
- Individuals with hyperthyroidism are excluded, including those with normal TSH on pharmacologic treatment
🔍 Extracted verbatim from the official NIH eligibility criteria. Always confirm with the study coordinator.
📍 All Participating Trial Locations (1 Sites)
- Stanford Health Care — Stanford, California
💰 Cost, Insurance & Patient Rights
- 100% Free Items: The investigational treatment and protocol-required procedures are supplied at zero cost by the sponsor.
- Routine Patient Care: Under federal law (ACA § 2709) and many state statutes, routine care costs are covered during participation.
- Voluntary Participation: You may withdraw at any time without affecting your standard medical care.