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UPBEAT: Using Polygenic Scores to Guide BB Therapy in HF With Mildly Reduced EF

Using Polygenic Scores to Guide Beta-blocker Therapy for Heart Failure With Mildly Reduced Ejection Fraction

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07054489
Acronym
UPBEAT
Enrollment
10
Registered
2025-07-08
Start date
2026-03-30
Completion date
2027-06-01
Last updated
2026-07-07

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

Conditions

Heart Failure, Polygenic Score

Keywords

Beta blocker, Metoprolol

Brief summary

This study will use polygenic scores, a tool which describes differences in genetics, to examine effectiveness of beta blocker medication in heart failure patients with ejection fraction of 41-50 percent. The study will also assess beta blockers' effect on the changes in left ventricular end-systolic volume index by MRI.

Detailed description

Heart failure (HF) is a major public health problem that displays wide variation in progression and response to therapy. Beta-blockers (BB) are the cornerstone of treatment for HF reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) but only \ 25% of patients experience a marked and sustained ejection fraction (EF) response, and they can have unwanted side effects (fatigue, depression, erectile dysfunction, others). The potential for Precision Medicine to improve HF care is great, but despite proof of concept, actionable ways are still lacking to use genomic or biomarker strategies to predict response to typical treatment. An important limitation of pharmacogenetics to date is that most studies used candidate gene approaches, assuming other loci are not meaningful. Unbiased approaches (e.g. genome-wide \[GW\] association) overcome this, but the typical analysis requires stringent significance levels which result in missing potentially important sources of variation. Common complex disease and drug responses are unlikely to be under strong single-loci influence (e.g., Mendelian disease), and instead are likely influenced by many loci that have relatively weak effects (i.e., polygenicity); such phenotypes are better tackled with approaches like polygenic risk scores. The PI has developed and validated a polygenic score for BB drug-response (in terms of mortality benefit) in HF for European ancestry patients and is currently developing a new score for diverse ancestries, particular African ancestry and admixed populations. To move this new paradigm for precision medicine forward to clinical utility, a randomized trial of BB by genomic (polygenic score) subgroups is needed. Moreover, pivotal trials of BB in HF excluded patients with mildly reduced EF (HFmEF, 40-50%), representing a public health issue of significant size (an estimated prevalence of 1.6M Americans) where currently BB may or may not be used and with limited data to guide who should or should not receive this key therapy. HFmEF patients have abnormal systolic function, high event rates, share many characteristics with HFrEF, and the polygenic response score correctly differentiates responders from non-responders in this group, making them the ideal group of patients in which to test genomically targeted BB treatment in a clinical trial. This pilot study will demonstrate feasibility of a future phase 2 study. That study, if successful would potentially revolutionize HF care by demonstrating signs of efficacy in terms of polygenic drug targeting.

Interventions

OTHERBeta blocker

Participants randomized to intervention will be dosed and titrated on beta blocker according to study protocol.

Sponsors

David Lanfear
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Intervention model description

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, two parallel group clinical trial

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 89 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Age 18-89 years * Ejection Fraction (EF) \>40% and =\<50% by any modality within 1 year (must be most recent) * Clinical diagnosis of HF within 1 year, evidenced by any one: Hospital discharge with primary or secondary HF diagnosis, ER discharge with primary diagnosis of HF, ambulatory diagnostic code for HF and diuretic use, BNP\>35 ng/L or NTproBNP \>125 ng/L at any time * Expected ability to fully participate in study (can tolerate study processes, no long travel)

Exclusion criteria

* Unable to provide informed consent * Previous documented EF =\< 35% * Currently on BB =\>25% target dose * Uncontrolled hypertension (systolic BP \> 180 at enrollment) * Has contraindications to all BB or intolerance to metoprolol * Systolic BP \< 100 or heart rate \<70 * Current cancer requiring active treatment * Heart transplant or LVAD or expected in the next year * Life expectancy \< 1 year for any reason * Dialysis dependence or ESRD * MI/ PCI or other cardiac surgery within 90 days prior to enrollment or planned in the future * Absolute indication for BB other than heart failure (e.g. tachyarrhythmia required BB for rate control, angina) * If PI decides for any reason participation in trial is not in best interest of the patient * Has a contraindication to completing MRI procedures

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in left ventricle end systolic volume indexWithin 6 months of randomizationLVESVi, measured in mL per square meter; assessed by cardiac MRI

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Other MRI ventricular performance characteristics: Left ventricular EFBaseline and within 6 months of randomizationLeft ventricular EF, measured in percentage
Other MRI ventricular performance characteristics: Left ventricular end-diastolic volume indexBaseline and within 6 months of randomizationLeft ventricular end-diastolic volume index (LVEDVi) as assessed by cardiac MRI, measured in mL per square meter
Clinical effects: blood pressureBaseline through exit visit, an interval of approximately 6 monthsChange in Blood pressure, measured in mmHg
Clinical effects: Heart rateBaseline through exit visit, an interval of approximately 6 monthsChange in Heart rate, measured in beats per minute
Change in NT-proBNP levelsBaseline and within 6 months of randomizationBlood test for biomarker level of N-terminal pro Brain natriuretic protein, measured in ng/L
Quality of life statusBaseline and monthly for duration of approximately 6 monthsSummary score of KCCQ
Functional statusBaseline through exit visit, an interval of approximately 6 monthsChange in 6-minute-walk-test, measured in meters
Clinical safety eventsBaseline through 30 days following completion of exit visitMeasured in all-cause mortality

Countries

United States

Contacts

CONTACTWhitney Cabral, MS
wcabral1@hfhs.org313-949-6616
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORDavid Lanfear, MD

Henry Ford Health

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Jul 8, 2026