Heart pump patients may get better quality of life with palliative care, new study hopes to prove
NCT ID NCT07445932
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looks at whether adding a palliative care team—specialists in comfort and holistic support—can improve quality of life for people who have had a mechanical heart pump (LVAD) for at least a year. About 90 adults who are not eligible for a heart transplant will be randomly assigned to get either usual care or extra palliative care for 6 months. The goal is to see if this approach is practical and helps with symptoms, mood, and overall well-being.
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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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About 90 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Mar 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Mar 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: * LVAD patients \>= 18 years of age * \>= 1 year post-LVAD implantation Exclusion Criteria: * Listed for heart transplantation. Undergoing evaluation for heart transplantation, however, is not an exclusion. * Non-English speaking * Receiving outpatient palliative care in the last 6 months * Renal replacement therapy * Non-cardiac terminal illness * Women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant * Inability to comply with study protocol and follow up * Inabilty to provide consent. * Cognitive impairment or intellectual disability that prohibits successful completion of the HRQoL scales or compliance with the study protocol and follow up.
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
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
2 sites. 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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Inova Schar Heart and Vascular Institute
Fairfax, Virginia, 22042, United States
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MedStar Washington Hospital Center
Washington D.C., District of Columbia, 20010, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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