New MRI technique could reveal hidden heart damage
NCT ID NCT02973633
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study uses a special type of MRI called diffusion tensor imaging to look at the structure of heart muscle in people with heart failure, recent heart attacks, or thickened heart walls. Researchers want to see how the heart's muscle fibers change over time, which may help explain why heart failure develops. The study involves 160 participants and uses MRI scans with a contrast dye.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could help doctors better understand how heart failure develops and improve early detection.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-phase observational study, not a treatment trial. It may not lead to direct patient benefits or new therapies.
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.
- Phase
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Early phase 1
The earliest testing in people: a first look at safety, in a very small group.
- Participants
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About 160 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2017
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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.
- Ages
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18 to 85 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide 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: * Healthy adults with no history of hypertension, diabetes or heart disease * Patients with ST Elevation MI within last 6-10 weeks who are angina free, and have been seen by a cardiologist since discharge * Patients with episode of heart failure within last 12 months and left ventricular hypertrophy, documented by echocardiogram or MRI. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Presence of metallic foreign bodies/objects 2. Selected medical devices and implants 3. Pacemakers, implantable defibrillators, life vests 4. Coronary artery stent within last 6 weeks (unless the stent is a MRI-inert chromium-cobalt stent) 5. Known untreated ventricular arrhythmia such as sustained ventricular tachycardia within last 12 months 6. Atrial fibrillation that is not well rate controlled (heart rate \>125) 7. Unstable angina within last 2 months that has not been fully evaluated by a cardiologist 8. Syncope within last 6 weeks 9. Hemodynamic instability (Systolic BP less than 100 or greater than 180) 10. Decompensated heart failure (inability to lie flat and perform a breath-hold). 11. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) \< 60 for those receiving gadolinium. 12. Labile GFR that is not stable/similar on last 2 measurements (for those receiving gadolinium). 13. Patients with GFR \< 20 or on any form of dialysis. 14. Infiltrative cardiomyopathy (amyloid, sarcoid, hemachromatosis) 15. Recent surgery (within the last 3 months) 16. Prior stroke with large residual deficit 17. Presence of liver or respiratory failure 18. Pregnancy and nursing mothers 19. Claustrophobia 20. Known seizure disorder
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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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
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Massachusetts General Hospital
RECRUITINGCharlestown, Massachusetts, 02129, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can AI read heart ultrasounds as well as trained sonographers?
- Can modern heart failure drugs reverse damage in three months?