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Effects of Low-Sodium Salt on Death, HF Hospitalization/ Emergency Department Visits and Quality of Life in HF Patients

Effects of Low-Sodium Substitute Salt on Death, Heart Failure Hospitalization, Heart Failure Emergency Department Visits, and Quality of Life in Patients With Heart Failure: A Multicenter, Double-Blind, Randomized Controlled Trial

Status
Recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06764225
Acronym
RESCUE-HF
Enrollment
1301
Registered
2025-01-08
Start date
2025-04-03
Completion date
2027-04-30
Last updated
2025-05-21

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

Conditions

Dietary Sodium Intake, Heart Failure

Keywords

low-sodium substitute salt

Brief summary

This study aims to investigate whether using a low-sodium substitute salt can help improve outcomes for patients with heart failure. Specifically, it will examine if the low-sodium substitute salt can reduce death rates, hospital readmissions, and emergency visits, as well as improve the quality of life for these patients.

Detailed description

The study will involve multiple centers and use a randomized, double-blind, controlled design, where participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group (who will use the low-sodium substitute salt ) or the control group (who will use regular salt). Participants will be followed up for at least a year, assessing outcomes including all cause mortality, heart failure hospitalizations, emergency visits, and changes in quality of life as measured by a questionnaire. Eligible participants will be between 18 and 75 years old, have been hospitalized for heart failure in the past year, and have stable heart failure. The study will exclude individuals with severe heart failure, uncontrolled health conditions, or other factors that may interfere with participation. The main goals are to determine if reducing sodium intake through the low-sodium substitute salt leads to better health outcomes in heart failure patients over a year. Participants will be followed up at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. This research will help provide evidence for whether a simple dietary change, like using a low-sodium substitute salt , can make a meaningful difference in managing heart failure

Interventions

OTHERlow-sodium substitute salt

This study specifically customized sodium reducing substitute salts with a sodium chloride content not exceeding 62% and without the addition of potassium chloride.

Sponsors

Beijing Anzhen Hospital
CollaboratorOTHER
Heart Health Research Center
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 75 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. Aged between 18 and 75 years; 2. Hospitalized due to heart failure in the past year; 3. NYHA functional class II-III; 4. Echocardiographic evidence of LVEF \< 40% within the past 6 months; 5. Receiving guideline-directed medical therapy for heart failure; 6. Stable heart failure status, defined as heart failure stability for more than 4 weeks, with no increase in diuretic dose within the past 4 weeks; 7. Having a primary caregiver and frequently dining together at home; 8. Consuming commercially processed food no more than once a week; 9. Providing written informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

1. End-stage heart failure; 2. Hospitalization due to cardiovascular causes within the past month; 3. Uncorrected hyponatremia (Na \< 130 mmol/L); 4. Dialysis-dependent patients, or eGFR \< 20 mL/min/1.73m²; 5. Uncontrolled hyperglycemia, with fasting blood glucose \> 16 mmol/L; 6. Malignant cancer patients with a life expectancy of less than 1 year; 7. Conditions that, in the investigator's opinion, may interfere with adherence to the protocol, such as habitual reliance on takeout meals or dining at company cafeterias; 8. Planned hospitalization during the study period; 9. Unexplained weight loss greater than 5 kg in the past year; 10. The subject or family members have concerns about using the salt substitute in this study, or are planning for pregnancy, pregnant, or breastfeeding; 11. Another family member is already participating in this study; 12. The subject or family members are participating in other interventional clinical trials.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Percentage of pairwise comparisons with wins of a composite endpoint including 1-year death, the number of HF hospitalizations/emergency visits, time to the first HF hospitalization/emergency visit, and the change in quality of life at 12 monthsFrom enrollment to the end of follow-up at 1 yearClinical benefit, a composite of all cause death, the number of HFHs/emergency visits, time to the first HFH/emergency visit, and the change in quality of life (Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire-12 (KCCQ-12) )at 1 year. All patients randomized to low-sodium group are compared to those randomized to control group within strata. For any two patients, a patient will win, i.e. achieve a better clinical outcome, as determined by assessing the following criteria sequentially, stopping when an advantage for either patient is shown: 1. Death: death is worse than no death; earlier death is worse; tied if not possible to determine. 2. Number of HF hospitalizations/emergency visits,: more HFHs/emergency visits is worse; tied, if same number. 3. Time to first HFH/emergency visit: earlier HFH/emergency visit is worse; tied, if not possible to determine. 4. KCCQ-12 at 1 year: Higher KCCQ-12 is better. The KCCQ-12 ranges from 0 to 100, where a higher score reflects a better outcome.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
The number of heart failure hospitalizations/emergency visits within 1 yearFrom enrollment to the end of follow-up at 1 year
Time from randomization to the first heart failure hospitalization/emergency visitFrom enrollment to the end of follow-up at 1 year
1-year all-cause mortalityFrom enrollment to the end of follow-up at 1 year
Change in heart failure quality of life score (KCCQ)From enrollment to the end of follow-up at 1 yearThe KCCQ-12 ranges from 0 to 100, where a higher score reflects a better outcome.
Change in frailty score for heart failure (FRIED scale)From enrollment to the end of follow-up at 1 yearThe FRIED scale assesses frailty in older adults based on five criteria: weight loss, exhaustion, weakness, slowness, and low activity. Frailty is classified as non-frail (0), pre-frail (1-2), or frail (≥3), predicting risks like falls, hospitalization, and mortality.
Cardiovascular mortality within 1 yearFrom enrollment to the end of follow-up at 1 year

Countries

China

Contacts

Primary ContactXin Du
duxinheart@sina.com+86-64456862

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026