Could a ketone drink boost exercise in heart failure patients?
NCT ID NCT06937320
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether a ketone drink can improve exercise capacity in people with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Twenty participants will receive either the ketone drink or a placebo for 8 weeks, then switch. The main goal is to see if the drink helps them exercise more.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- ketone drink (KetoneIQ)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a simple dietary supplement to help people with HFpEF exercise more easily.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-phase study with only 20 participants, so results may not apply widely. The drink may cause digestive discomfort or have no effect.
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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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 20 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2027
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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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 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 1. 18 years of age or older 2. Stable medical therapy for at least 2 weeks 3. New York Heart Association (NYHA) class symptoms II or III 4. Left ventricular ejection fraction ≥ 50% 5. Evidence for elevated filling pressures as follows (at least one of the following between a-d): a. Mitral early (E)/mitral septal tissue annular (e') velocity ratio \> 8 on echocardiography in addition to one of the following: i. Enlarged left atrium (LA\>4.0 cm width or LA volume index \>34 mL/m2) ii. Chronic loop diuretic use for control of symptoms iii. Elevated natriuretic peptides within the past year (NT-proBNP\>125 pg/ml or BNP\>35 pg/ml) b. Mitral E/e' ratio \> 14 at rest or with exercise on echocardiography c. Elevated invasively-determined filling pressures previously (resting left ventricular end-diastolic pressure \>16 mm Hg or pulmonary capillary wedge pressure \> 14 mmHg; or PCWP or LVEDP ≥ 25 mmHg with exercise) d. Prior episode of acute heart failure requiring IV diuretics with evidence of volume overload on exam or radiology, or evidence of elevated natriuretic peptides. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Intentional ketogenic (high fat, low carbohydrate) diet in the last week 2. Cirrhosis or alcohol use disorder (\>14 drinks/week). 3. Contraindications to stress testing, conditions that limit exercise, and other clinically-significant causes of exertional limitation (claudication with peripheral artery disease, atrial fibrillation and heart rate \>110 at rest, systolic blood pressure\>180 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure\>110 mmHg, infiltrative/hypertrophic/inflammatory cardiomyopathy, clinically significant pericardial disease, joint or neuromuscular disease that precludes exercise, acute coronary syndrome within the last 2 months, estimated glomerular filtration rate\<20 mL/min/1.73 m2, and hemoglobin \< 9 mg/dL). 4. Clinically significant lung disease, defined as severe obstructive lung disease (Gold stage 3), a requirement for supplemental oxygen, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with an exacerbation requiring steroids or antibiotics within the last 2 months. 5. \> Moderate aortic stenosis, \>mild mitral stenosis, \> moderate aortic or mitral regurgitation on screening echocardiogram, or presence of a prosthetic valve in the mitral position. 6. Type 1 diabetes mellitus 7. Start of a GLP-1 RA within the past 6 months. 8. Pregnant women. 9. Angina due to epicardial coronary disease or known presence of clinically-significant, unrevascularized epicardial coronary disease, in the investigator's opinion. 10. Prior reduced LVEF to \< 45% by echocardiography or cardiac MRI 11. Participation in another clinical study with an investigational product in the previous 4 weeks prior to enrollment (or longer if deemed necessary by the investigator). 12. Conditions that may render the patient unable to complete the study, in the opinion of the investigator.
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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
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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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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Duke University
Durham, North Carolina, 27710, United States
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