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After a stroke, does the heart inflame? MRI study probes the link

NCT ID NCT05714618

Knowledge-focused Sponsor: Luciano A. Sposato Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Sep 18, 2026 · Last updated Sep 18, 2026

Summary

Researchers are studying whether an ischemic stroke in the middle cerebral artery territory triggers inflammation and scarring in the heart muscle. The trial enrolls 44 adults with acute stroke and 24 people with stroke-like symptoms but no brain infarct as a comparison group. Participants receive gadolinium-enhanced cardiac MRI within 10 days of stroke and again about two months later, plus blood tests for inflammatory markers and B-type natriuretic peptide. The goal is to measure how much heart inflammation and fibrosis appear and whether they change over time.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
Gadolinium-enhanced cardiac MRI with blood tests for inflammatory markers and B-type natriuretic peptide
What this could lead to
If stroke does inflame the heart, doctors could one day monitor stroke survivors for heart damage and test treatments that protect the heart after a stroke.
What could go wrong
The study is small and observational, so it can show a link between stroke and heart inflammation but not prove cause. MRI contrast and blood draws carry minor risks, and findings in 44 stroke patients may not apply to everyone.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Participants

About 44 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Oct 2021

Expected to finish

Dec 2027

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Who is studied

The investigators will include 44 patients with right (n=22) and left (n=22) MCA ischemic stroke. The investigators aim to include at least 50% of female patients. The investigators will include 24 participants in a control group. Participants in the control group will be patients presenting with acute stroke symptoms but no evidence of acute brain infarction on DWI-MRI imaging. Participants will be divided by sex: the investigators aim to enroll 12 female and 12 male participants. The investigators will aim to enroll participants within the same age range as the stroke participants.

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: • Acute ischemic stroke in the right or left MCA territory. Acute ischemic stroke is defined as acute onset focal symptoms matching an acute brain infarct documented on Head computed tomography or diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) MRI of the brain showing restricted diffusion. Exclusion Criteria: * History of known atrial fibrillation, prior myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease, heart failure, prior cardiovascular surgery or percutaneous intervention. * Previous stroke (occurred within 3 months before the index event) * Impaired renal function defined as a creatinine clearance \<97 mL/min in men or \<88 mL/min in women, according to the Cockcroft formula. * hs-TnT \>100 on routine acute stroke baseline bloodwork upon admission. * Clinically or neurologically unstable patients as per the treating physician. * Ongoing infection or recent infection within the previous 3 months * Surgery within 3 months before the stroke * Concurrent and active inflammatory conditions (connective tissue diseases, rheumatological disease, etc.) or use of anti-inflammatory medications * Pregnancy, Stage IV renal insufficiency, eGFR \<30, and any other contraindications to the use of gadolinium. * Stroke with symptomatic hemorrhagic transformation * Subjects will be excluded if they fail the LHSC standard MRI screening questionnaire (cardiac pacemakers/wires, aneurysm clips, shunt/surgical clips, shrapnel/bullets, dentures or metal braces, intra-uterine devices, heart valves, ear implants, prostheses, medication patches such as Nicoderm, Habitrol, or Transderm-Nitro, claustrophobia, history of a head or eye injury involving metal fragments.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Inflammation inflammatory disease ischemic stroke

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Inflammation Myocardial injury Stroke, ischemic

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The places running it

    1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Heart & Brain Lab, Western University

    RECRUITING

    London, Ontario, N6A 5A5, Canada

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