Simple handgrip squeeze could revolutionize heart failure assessment
NCT ID NCT04347655
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers at the University of Calgary are testing a new, non-invasive way to assess heart function using a handgrip exercise. The study involves 100 adults, half with heart failure and half without. Participants squeeze a device with maximum force for two minutes while sensors measure blood pressure and heart output. The goal is to see if this simple test can reveal differences in heart performance between healthy individuals and those with heart failure.
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 lead to a simpler, non-invasive way to evaluate heart function in people with heart failure.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage observational study, not a treatment trial. The new method may not prove reliable or useful in practice.
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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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 100 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2021
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2029
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 years and older
- 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: * Age 18 years or older * Clinical heart failure (HFrEF or HFpEF) for heart failure patients and no clinical heart failure for the non-heart failure participants. Exclusion Criteria: * Unable or unwilling to provide informed consent * On intravenous inotrope or pressor medications to maintain their cardiac function
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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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University of Calgary
RECRUITINGCalgary, Alberta, T2N 4Z6, Canada
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