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Accelerated Pacing and Cardiac Filling Pressures During Exercise in Patients With Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction

NCT07270536 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 20

Last updated 2026-01-08

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a condition where the heart pumps strongly enough, but has trouble relaxing and filling with blood properly. This causes the pressure on the left side of the heart to rise, especially during activity, which can lead to symptoms like shortness of breath and fatigue. Even light activities such as walking or climbing stairs can be difficult, limiting daily life.

Recent research suggests that increasing the heart rate in people with HFpEF may help lower this elevated pressure in the heart. Because patients usually experience their symptoms during exercise, this study aims to see whether, during light activity, increasing the heart rate in patients who already have a pacemaker by adjusting its settings, can reduce this elevated pressure in the heart. Furthermore, we will look at how increasing the heart rate affects the amount of blood the heart pumps each minute, another key factor in a person's ability to perform physical activity.

The investigators will examine 20 patients using a heart catheter to measure pressures, along with breathing analyses. During the measurements, all patients will perform light-intensity cycling.

If increasing the pacemaker rate lowers the pressure in the heart, this simple, non-drug-based intervention could improve daily functioning and comfort for thousands of patients with heart failure, justifying further long-term studies to evaluate effects beyond the immediate changes in heart pressures.

Conditions

Interventions

OTHER

Accelerated pacing with AV-delay optimization during rest and light intensity cycling

Patients will undergo one protocol at rest and two exercise protocols (10 Watts followed by 25 Watts). During each protocol, the pacemaker rate will be gradually increased in three stages. At each stage, intracardiac pressures and shear-wave velocity will be measured. In a final fourth stage, the pacemaker rate will return to the level associated with the lowest heart pressure, blood oxygen levels and oxygen uptake will be assessed.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Jessa Ziekenhuis Hasselt

    collaborator UNKNOWN

  • Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-12-10
Primary Completion
2027-01-01
Completion
2027-01-01

Countries

  • Belgium

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07270536 on ClinicalTrials.gov