Bowditch Revisited: Defining the Optimum Heart Rate Range in Chronic Heart Failure

Status

UNKNOWN

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02563873

Enrollment

110

Registered

2015-09-30

Start date

2015-10-31

Completion date

2018-07-31

Last updated

2016-05-11

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Chronic Heart Failure

Brief summary

The investigators are examining the relationship between heart rate and heart contraction in patients with heart failure and pacemakers, aiming to improve quality of life.

Detailed description

Heart rate lowering is a cornerstone of the management of chronic heart failure (CHF) and the degree of lowering is closely related to improvements in longevity, hospitalisation rate and heart function. The investigators have shown that increasing heart rates using pacemakers does not increase exercise capacity in CHF patients. This might be because the optimal heart rate range for contraction is narrower for patients with CHF. At higher heart rates, heart contraction might be less strong. The investigators now want to examine the relationship between heart rate and heart contraction in patients with heart failure and pacemakers. Tailored pacemaker heart rate setting's, individually optimised for heart contractility as assessed by cardiac ultrasound, will be investigated to examine the effects on exercise tolerance .

Interventions

DEVICETailored pacemaker settings

Tailored pacemaker settings, optimised for cardiac contractility: Pacemaker settings, optimised for cardiac contractility as determined by echocardiography, will be programmed

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

CROSSOVER

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* stable CHF * Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy (CRT) device for \>3 months, * able to walk on treadmill

Exclusion criteria

* unable to walk on treadmill, * unstable angina pectoris * uncontrolled heart rate * prescribed calcium channel blocker * significant aortic stenosis * significant airways disease

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Change in Exercise Time	Assessed following the second treadmill test, 1 week later	Exercise duration in seconds

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Change in Peak Oxygen Consumption (pVO2)	Assessed following the second treadmill test, 1 week later	Peak Oxygen Consumption (pVO2) measured by metabolic gas exchange

Countries

United Kingdom

Contacts

Primary ContactJohn Gierula, BSc

J.Gierula@leeds.ac.uk00441333923131

Backup ContactKlaus K Witte, MD

k.k.witte@leeds.ac.uk

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 25, 2026