Heart failure patients walk toward better health in new Step-Based trial
NCT ID NCT07204834
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether a 9-month program that encourages people with heart failure to gradually increase their daily steps and walking speed can improve their physical function and symptoms. Two hundred participants will either receive standard care or the step-based program, which uses wearable devices and personalized goals. The main goal is to see if the program helps them walk farther in a 6-minute test and feel better day-to-day.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- physical activity program (step-based walking intervention with wearable device and online platform)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple, low-cost way to improve daily function and quality of life for people with heart failure.
- What could go wrong
- This is a moderate-sized trial testing a behavioral intervention, not a drug. Results may vary by individual, and the program may not be effective for everyone or may be hard to sustain long-term.
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 200 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2025
- 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 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: * Chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, HFrEF, i.e., left ventricular ejection fraction ≤40%, or mildly reduced ejection fraction, HFmrEF, i.e., left ventricular ejection fraction 41-49%, confirmed with an echocardiography showing HFrEF or HFmrEF in the last 6 months and having reached stable medication titration (highest tolerated dose) for ≥1 month * Functional class New York Heart Association (NYHA) II or III, confirmed by the clinical staff * Age ≥18 years old Exclusion Criteria: * Signs or symptoms of decompensated heart failure in the last month * Uncontrolled arrhythmia * Limiting angina (grade III or IV) * Severe symptomatic aortic stenosis * Persistent symptomatic hypotension * In the last 3 months: myocardial infarction, revascularization procedure (i.e., percutaneous coronary intervention, coronary artery bypass graft) or insertion of a cardiac device (e.g., implantable cardioverter defibrillator, bi-ventricular pacemaker) * Comorbid diagnosed conditions that either contraindicate physical activity or may adversely impact adherence to trial procedures, such as active malignancy, major depression or other significant psychiatric disorders, dementia, or significant hearing or visual impairment * Inability to walk independently (i.e., requires assistive devices for ambulation) * Already participates in a clinical trial or plans to participate in other interventions that could affect this trial, such as cardiac rehabilitation, during the study period * Both the participant and caregiver are unable to access a smartphone or internet, or have null technology literacy (i.e., unable to use WhatsApp or a simple Web page)
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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
4 sites. 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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Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), University of Granada
Granada, 18016, Spain
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Hospital Comarcal Santa Ana de Motril
Motril, Spain
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Hospital Universitario Clínico San Cecilio
Granada, Spain
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Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves
Granada, Spain
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can daily mindful breathing ease heart failure symptoms?
- Can a smartphone app keep heart failure patients out of the hospital?
- Can better training get doctors to talk about what matters most to dying veterans?
- Can AI read heart ultrasounds as well as trained sonographers?