Heart failure nerve stimulation study fizzles out
NCT ID NCT03945058
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested if a gentle nerve stimulation (like a mild electrical pulse on the neck) could improve blood vessel health and memory in people with heart failure. Only 7 people took part before the study was stopped early. The goal was to see if 4 weeks of stimulation could reduce inflammation and improve artery function, but results are limited due to the small size.
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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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7 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Feb 2020
- Finished
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Dec 2021
- 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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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1\. Patients (18 years or older) with Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), which is a history of symptomatic heart failure with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of \< 40%. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Patients in overt congestive heart failure / recent acute myocardial infarction (\< 3 months) or Unstable angina 2. Active malignancy 3. Pre-menopausal women and post-menopausal women on hormone supplements. 4. Unilateral or bilateral vagotomy 5. Patients with bilateral upper extremity amputation 6. Pregnant patients 7. End-stage renal disease 8. End-stage liver disease 9. History of recurrent vasovagal syncope, Sick sinus syndrome, 2nd- or 3rd-degree atrioventricular (AV) block. 10. Patients with clinically documented upper extremity arterial disease 11. Patients with a body mass index (BMI) \>35 12. Significant hypotension (blood pressure \<90mmHg) secondary to autonomic dysfunction
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 73104, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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