Heart Failure and Reduced Ejection Fraction

Advanced heart failure, affecting 7 million Americans, has multiple causes and results in greatly increased risk of disability and death. A major problem is sudden cardiac death, when the damaged heart develops an abnormal pattern of electrical conduction that can result in cessation of heart activity. While placement of an Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD) in a patient's chest can help prevent sudden cardiac death, these devices have several important downsides. This protocol focuses on development of a digital decision aid that helps heart failure patients make informed decisions that balance the benefits and downsides of ICD placement. This protocol covers the use of participant surveys, focus groups, and interviews to obtain the needed background information to guide the development of this digital tool, which will be subsequently tested against usual care in a randomized clinical trial. The study design is best described as a mixed methods evaluation and refinement of a digital app to improve ICD decision-making. In the future, the present protocol will be modified to create a new protocol that covers the needed human subjects requirements for performance of this clinical trial.

To evaluate the effect of accelerated atrial resynchronization achieved through Bachmann bundle pacing at the time of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and interatrial block

Heart failure is a serious condition in which the heart is unable to pump blood effectively, and it remains a leading cause of hospitalization and death worldwide despite advances in treatment. Selenium is an essential micronutrient that plays an important role in cellular energy production, antioxidant defense, and overall cardiovascular function. Low selenium levels are common among patients with heart failure in Northern Europe, and observational studies have shown that selenium deficiency is associated with an increased risk of hospitalization and death. In cases of severe deficiency, such as in Keshan disease, heart dysfunction can be reversed with selenium supplementation, suggesting a potential causal relationship. However, it is not yet known whether selenium supplementation can improve clinical outcomes in patients with heart failure when added to standard medical therapy. The SIRI-HF trial is a randomized, placebo-controlled study designed to evaluate whether daily supplementation with 200 micrograms of selenium, in addition to guideline-directed medical therapy, improves outcomes in patients with heart failure. The primary endpoint is a composite of recurrent heart failure hospitalizations and cardiovascular death. Secondary endpoints include all-cause mortality, changes in symptoms and functional status, and safety outcomes. This study will include patients from Sweden and Norway and aims to determine whether correcting selenium deficiency can improve prognosis in heart failure.

The purpose of this prospective, multi-center, propensity-matched coverage with evidence development (CED) study is to assess the impact of cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) on mortality and heart failure hospitalizations in Medicare-eligible patients with heart failure who meet indications for CCM.

The INITIATE-HF study is a cluster randomized controlled trial that aims to find out if reminding doctors about treatment guidelines for iron deficiency in adults with heart failure who are hospitalized and have evidence of iron deficiency changes the subsequent use of intravenous (IV) iron. Two groups of hospitalized adult patients with known heart failure and iron deficiency will be compared: * Group 1 will include doctors who receive a notification with their patient's iron storage test results and guideline recommendations related to the use of IV iron. * Group 2 will include doctors who do not receive this notification and continue with usual standard of care. The study will measure if this provider-facing notification affects physician use of recommended IV iron treatment in eligible patients with heart failure, left ventricular ejection fraction less than 50%, and iron deficiency. Secondarily, if there is an increased use of IV iron observed in the intervention group, this study will evaluate whether there are differential health outcomes (i.e., fewer subsequent hospital visits and lower risk of death) of patients whose providers were assigned to the intervention group.

The goal of this clinical trial is to find out which type of specialist pacemaker-known as cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT)-works best for people with heart failure and a delay in how the lower chambers of the heart beat together (called electrical dyssynchrony). The main aims of the study are: To compare the effects of conventional biventricular pacing (BVP), conduction system pacing (CSP) and left-bundle optimised CRT (LOT-CRT) on heart failure symptoms and heart rhythm problems over six months. To explore how these pacing methods affect heart muscle strength, electrical activity, and overall heart function. Participants will: Attend four hospital visits over a six-month period. At Visit 1, meet a member of the research team to discuss the study and have screening tests to check eligibility. Participants will also have a smartphone app installed and receive training on how to record their daily heart failure symptoms. At Visit 2, have a CRT pacemaker implanted. The type of pacemaker will be chosen at random, with a 1 in 3 chance of receiving: * Biventricular pacing (BVP); the current standard treatment * Conduction system pacing (CSP) * LOT-CRT (Left-bundle optimised CRT); a combination of both At Visit 3 (around 12 weeks after implantation) and Visit 4 (6 months after implantation), take part in routine follow-up assessments to check the pacemaker and heart function. At Visits 2 and 4, also undergo non-invasive electrical mapping tests, including wearing a specialised vest and having a low-dose CT scan of the chest. These tests help researchers understand how the heart's electrical system responds to different pacing methods.

This is a multi-center, prospective, observational study designed to evaluate the impact of LV myocardial fibrosis extent assessed by CMR on LV reverse remodeling and clinical outcomes post TEER. The target sample will be up to 125 patients enrolled to achieve 100 evaluable at 6 months of follow-up. Enrollment will occur at up to eight centers.

Guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) constitutes of four medications that substantially reduce morbidity and mortality, and improve quality of life. In routine clinical practice, various physician- and patient-related factors lead to suboptimal initiation and uptitration of GDMT to optimal dosing, which is associated with worse patient outcomes. A perceived major barrier to the optimalization of GDMT are changes in kidney function and electrolytes, which prompts physicians to halt uptitration, reduce doses, or even discontinue GDMT. Changes in kidney function and electrolytes during optimalization of GDMT are common, but not associated with adverse events. The hypothesis of this study is that a reduction in the number of kidney function assessments during initiation and uptitration of GDMT in HFrEF patients will lead to higher achieved doses of GDMT without safety concerns.