ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT01099982Updated Aug 13, 2026

Assessing Changes in Myocardial Tissue and Blood in Patients With Advanced Heart Disease

An observational study in Congestive Heart Failure, sponsored by University of Utah. Recruiting at 3 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 13 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-13.

Sponsored by University of Utah · Observational

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Sep 2008; still recruiting 18 years 2 months later.
Study type
Observational
Model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
300
Ages
13 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Hypothesis:

Tissue and serum samples collected from end-stage heart failure patients receiving left ventricular assist device implantation (LVAD) or heart transplantation will provide information regarding the basic science of heart disease. Tissue and serum samples collected from a limited numbers of "healthy controls" (donor grafts that were not utilized for heart transplantation) will serve as a comparator in research database projects.

Design:

This is a registry project; there are no investigational treatments, drug or procedures associated with participation in registry activities. This project is an organized functional data and tissue data gathering and storing (database) endeavor with specific focus on the functional, structural, and molecular aspects of heart failure. Data collection will not immediately influence the course of treatment for any patient.

Read the detailed description

Brief description of procedures:

After informed consent is obtained from the patient, the blood samples will be obtained either during a procedure from access lines inserted for the procedure or they will be drawn when other ordered lab work is done at specific time points during the study. Tissue samples will be obtained at the time of LVAD implantation by keeping the part of the left ventricular apex that the surgeon is removing in order to place the inflow cannula of the LVAD. No extra tissue sample, other than the tissue that has to be removed as a part of a standard LVAD, will be collected.

02

Conditions studied

  • Congestive Heart Failure

Keywords

  • Congestive Heart Failure
  • Left Ventricular Assist Device
  • LVAD
  • Myocardium
  • Remodeling
  • Microvasculature
  • Fibrosis
  • Cardiac Transplant
03

In context

Heart Failure

6,331 studies on the registry are indexed under Heart Failure; 1,396 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 300 is above the median of 200 across 1,983 observational studies indexed under Heart Failure.

Browse Heart Failure studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Utah is the lead sponsor of 994 studies on the registry; 175 are open to participants now.

Of its 114 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 69 (61%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
13 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Either gender, ≥ 13 years of age, any ethnicity, diagnosed with end stage heart failure undergoing either VAD implantation or heart transplantation.

Control samples will be obtained from individuals undergoing other types of cardiac sugery during which it is routine to discard some tissue intraoperatively.

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • >18 years of age diagnosed with heart failure undergoing either LVAD implantation or heart transplantation
  • 13 to 18 years of age, specifically, older children with heart failure whose is large enough to accommodate and LVAD

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Neither patient nor patient representative understands spoken English
  • Neither patient nor patient's personal representative is willing to give written consent for participation.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

05

Study design

Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
300 participants (estimated)
Patient registry
No
Biospecimen retention
Samples with dna

Groups and cohorts

  • Advanced Heart Failure Therapy Group

    Patients diagnosed with end stage heart failure undergoing either VAD implantation or heart transplantation.

  • Normal Hearts Group

    Control samples will be obtained from individuals undergoing other types of cardiac surgery during which it is routine to discard some tissue intraoperatively.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in myocardial function

    Myocardial function, measured by left ventricular ejection fraction, will be assessed pre-LVAD implant (baseline) and compared with myocardial function assessed at 3 months post-LVAD implant

    Time frame: baseline and 3 months

07

Study locations

3 of 3 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Gatsiou A, Tual-Chalot S, Napoli M, Ortega-Gomez A, Regen T, Badolia R, Cesarini V, Garcia-Gonzalez C, Chevre R, Ciliberti G, Silvestre-Roig C, Martini M, Hoffmann J, Hamouche R, Visker JR, Diakos N, Wietelmann A, Silvestris DA, Georgiopoulos G, Moshfegh A, Schneider A, Chen W, Guenther S, Backs J, Kwak S, Selzman CH, Stamatelopoulos K, Rose-John S, Trautwein C, Spyridopoulos I, Braun T, Waisman A, Gallo A, Drakos SG, Dimmeler S, Sperandio M, Soehnlein O, Stellos K. The RNA editor ADAR2 promotes immune cell trafficking by enhancing endothelial responses to interleukin-6 during sterile inflammation. Immunity. 2023 May 9;56(5):979-997.e11. doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2023.03.021. Epub 2023 Apr 25. PubMed 37100060 ↗
09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Started Sep 2008 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Jan 2030, 256 months after the start.

Of 793 non-industry observational studies under Heart Failure, half reached primary completion within 45 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 23 and three quarters within 99. This study's planned 256 months is above that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 975 studies reached it within 41 months; a quarter within 23 and three quarters within 89.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Apr 6, 2010
First posted
Apr 8, 2010
StartActual
Sep 2008
Primary completionEst.
Jan 2030
CompletionEst.
Jan 2030
Last update
Aug 13, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 13, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01099982
Lead sponsor
University of Utah
Collaborators
Intermountain Health Care, Inc., VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center
Responsible party
STAVROS G DRAKOS (Principal Investigator, University of Utah) — Principal investigator
First posted
Apr 8, 2010
Start date
Sep 2008
Primary completion
Jan 2030 (estimated)
Completion
Jan 2030 (estimated)
Last update
Aug 13, 2026

Study contacts

John Kirk
Contact
john.kirk@hsc.utah.edu
801-585-2944
Stavros Drakos, M.D., Ph.D.
Contact
stavros.drakos@hsc.utah.edu
801-585-2340
Stavros Drakos, M.D., Ph.D.
principal investigator · University of Utah Health Sciences Center & VA Salt Lake City Health Care System

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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