An interventional study of NT-proBNP testing and Cardiac Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) in Heart Failure, sponsored by Universidade do Porto. Recruiting at 4 sites in Portugal. Open to participants aged 49 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-07-17.
Sponsored by Universidade do Porto · Not applicable, Interventional, and Diagnostic
The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate whether the use of NT-proBNP testing and point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) can improve the diagnosis and management of heart failure in adults aged 50 years or older with suspected heart failure or cardiovascular risk factors in primary care settings.
The main questions it aims to answer are:
Researchers will compare standard care alone with standard care combined with NT-proBNP testing, POCUS, or both, to assess their impact on diagnosis and management of heart failure.
Participants will:
6,331 studies on the registry are indexed under Heart Failure; 1,396 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 160 is above the median of 76 across 4,049 interventional studies indexed under Heart Failure.
Browse Heart Failure studies →Universidade do Porto is the lead sponsor of 174 studies on the registry; 53 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
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.
Presence of at least two cardiovascular risk factors, including:
Exclusion Criteria:
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.
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
A “mini-stroke”: temporary stroke-like symptoms caused by reduced blood flow to part of the brain, spinal cord or eye, without signs of a new stroke on a scan.
Stroke symptoms need emergency care at once, even if they go away.
A recording of the heart’s electrical activity, taken with stickers on the chest, arms and legs. It takes a few minutes and does not hurt.
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.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.
GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
TIA (transient ischaemic attack)
A “mini-stroke”: temporary stroke-like symptoms caused by reduced blood flow to part of the brain, spinal cord or eye, without signs of a new stroke on a scan.
Stroke symptoms need emergency care at once, even if they go away.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ECG (electrocardiogram)
A recording of the heart’s electrical activity, taken with stickers on the chest, arms and legs. It takes a few minutes and does not hurt.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Life expectancy
The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants receive standard clinical evaluation and management in primary care without NT-proBNP testing and without point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS).
Other: standard of care
Participants receive standard clinical evaluation and management in primary care with NT-proBNP testing, but without point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS).
Diagnostic Test: NT-proBNP testing · Other: standard of care
Participants receive standard clinical evaluation and management in primary care with NT-proBNP testing and cardiac point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS).
Diagnostic Test: NT-proBNP testing · Device: Cardiac Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) · Other: standard of care
Participants receive standard clinical evaluation and management in primary care with cardiac point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), but without NT-proBNP testing.
Device: Cardiac Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) · Other: standard of care
Measurement of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels in blood as part of the diagnostic evaluation for suspected heart failure in primary care.
Cardiac point-of-care ultrasound performed by trained primary care physicians to assess cardiac structure and function as part of the diagnostic evaluation for suspected heart failure.
Usual clinical evaluation and management in primary care according to standard practice, without additional diagnostic interventions specified in the study.
New Heart Failure Diagnosis
Proportion of participants with a new diagnosis of heart failure established during follow-up based on clinical evaluation and diagnostic testing according to routine practice.
Time frame: From baseline to 12 months
Initiation of Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy (GDMT)
Proportion of participants in whom guideline-directed medical therapy for heart failure is initiated during follow-up.
Time frame: From baseline to 12 months
Change in Health-Related Quality of Life (KCCQ-12)
Change from baseline in health-related quality of life as measured by the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire 12 (KCCQ-12) score.
Time frame: From baseline to 12 months
Cost-effectiveness of diagnostic strategies
Evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of diagnostic strategies incorporating NT-proBNP testing and/or point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), including direct healthcare costs (e.g., diagnostic testing and referrals) and indirect costs (e.g., patient time and productivity loss).
Time frame: From baseline to 12 months
Quality of Cardiac POCUS Examinations
Assessment of the quality and interpretability of cardiac point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) examinations performed by trained primary care physicians, based on expert review.
Time frame: From baseline to 12 months
Healthcare Resource Utilization
Assessment of healthcare resource utilization, including the number of conventional echocardiograms performed and referrals to specialist care.
Time frame: From baseline to 12 months
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