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Diastolic Heart FailurePART-HFNCT05223751

Parasympathetic Augmentation Via Respiratory Training for Patients With Systolic Heart Failure

A study testing Meo Health Breathing and humming exercises in people with Diastolic Heart Failure, run by Lancaster General Hospital at 1 site in United States.

Terminated

Stopped early. The study ended before it was planned to and will not resume.

Official record
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Trial summary

This is a prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial in which participants with NYHA class II or III and symptomatic Heart Failure with reduced Ejection Fraction (HFrEF) (Ejection Fraction (EF) ≤ 45%) will be assigned to one of two treatment groups: standard of care or breathing therapy. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Diastolic Heart Failure
What is being tested?
Meo Health Breathing and humming exercises
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
65 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
7 Feb 2022to 12 Sep 2025
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • 18 years or older
  • Signed informed consent
  • NYHA class II-III heart failure
  • EF ≤ 45% (echo within 1 year of enrollment)
  • At least 30 days of stable medical regimen (no new neurohormonal blockade or Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i). Dose adjustments allowed)
  • Likely to be compliant with breath training as assessed by the provider
  • Availability of a "smart" phone and internet access
  • Established care at Lancaster General Health Penn Medicine

Who cannot join

  • Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) within 6 months
  • Severe Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
  • History of diaphragm paralysis
  • Unable or unwilling to complete respiratory training protocol
  • Decompensated or American College of Cardiology (ACC) Stage D Heart Failure (HF)
  • Prior or planned chest/abdominal or nasal/facial surgery within 6 months
Show all 12Show fewer
  • Neuromuscular disease which impairs respiration
  • Diagnosed cognitive impairment (unable to participate in training)
  • Untreated obstructive severe sleep apnea (AHI > 30)
  • Severe valvular heart disease
  • Uncontrolled atrial fibrillation (Ave Heart Rate (HR) > 100 bpm)
  • Orthopedic or other limitations which impair the 6-minute walk test

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Lancaster General Hospital

    Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 17604

Other trials in United States

About this study

This is a prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial in which participants with NYHA class II or III and symptomatic Heart Failure with reduced Ejection Fraction (HFrEF) (Ejection Fraction (EF) ≤ 45%) will be assigned to one of two treatment groups: standard of care or breathing therapy.

Read the detailed description

To evaluate the effect of breathing training on the 6-minute walk test in a population of heart failure patients.

Enrollment/Baseline Visit During the enrollment visit, the participant will meet with the clinical research coordinator (CRC) to review any final questions regarding the study and the informed consent form will be signed. The enrollment visit must occur within one month of screening. Once the informed consent is signed, the following procedures will occur.

  • Randomization: Participants will be randomized using REDCap in a 2:1 blocking method into the intervention group (breathing therapy) or the control (standard of care).
  • N-terminal (NT)-pro hormone BNP (NT-proBNP): If an NT-proBNP was collected as standard of care within 3 months of enrollment, this can be used for study purposes and compared to the 6 month NT-proBNP.
  • New York Heart Association Class: If the NYHA class is completed as standard of care within 3 months of enrollment, this can be used for study proposes.
  • Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ)
  • Respiratory Rate
  • Peak Expiratory Flow
  • 6-minute walk test
  • Orientation to the Heart Rate Variability 4 (HRV4) Training application: This will include downloading, creating an account for, and training the participant on the application.

The Intervention Group will also receiving training on the Meo Health breathing therapy, which will include:

  • Being shown the Meo Health Breathing Therapy On-Boarding video
  • Orientation to breathing application: Participants will be assisted in downloading and custom setting the Breathe application.
  • Zoom Within one month of the baseline visit, participants in the intervention group will have a one-on-one training session with the Meo Health breathing coach. This will mark the beginning of their breathing therapy intervention. 3 Month Visit The 3 month visit will occur 3 months (± 14 days) from the one-on-one training session for participants in the intervention group . The participant will only meet with the CRC at the 3 month visit and all assessments will be completed by the CRC.
  • NYHA class
  • KCCQ
  • Respiratory Rate
  • Peak Expiratory Flow
  • 6-minute walk test
  • Assess compliance from HRV4 Training application questions
  • Assess any possible adverse events 6 Month/Final Visit The 6 month visit will occur 6 months (± 14 days) from the one-on-one training session for participants in the intervention group. The participant will meet with the CRC at the 6 month visit, any assessments not completed as Standard of Care (SOC), will be completed by the CRC.
  • NT-proBNP: If an NT-proBNP is ordered as standard of care for the participant, this can be used for study purposes and compared to the baseline NT-proBNP.
  • NYHA class: If the NYHA class is completed as standard of care, this can be used for study purposes and compared to the baseline and 3 month values.
  • KCCQ
  • Respiratory Rate
  • Peak Expiratory Flow
  • 6-minute walk test
  • Assess any possible adverse events 9 Month Structured Telephone Survey The 9 month structured telephone interview will take place for all participants who receive breathing training from Meo Health. Participants will be called by a study team member who will facilitate a short (3-5 minute) telephone survey about adherence and changes in health outcomes as a result of participation in the trial. (See appendix 15.4). The study team member will record all answers into REDCap. Upon completion of the survey, participants will be closed out of the study. If a study team member is unable to get in contact with a participant after two attempts, their status will be marked as "closed to follow-up" and they won't be interviewed.
Being tested
Meo Health Breathing and humming exercises
Keywords
heart failure
Medical subject headings
Heart Failure, Diastolic, Heart Failure

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Meo Health Breathing and humming exercisesBehavioural

    The Intervention Group will receive training on the Meo Health breathing therapy, which will include:

    • Being shown the Meo Health Breathing Therapy On-Boarding video
    • Orientation to breathing application: Participants will be assisted in downloading and customizing the Breathe application.
    • Zoom tutorial: Participants will be assisted in setting up and navigating Zoom application for use with the Meo Health breathing coach.

    Within one month of the baseline visit, participants in the intervention group will have a 20 minute one-on-one training session with the Meo Health breathing coach. This will mark the beginning of their respiratory training intervention.

    A 3 month visit will occur 3 months (± 14 days) from the one-on-one training session for participants in the intervention group.

    A 6 month visit will occur 6 months (± 14 days) from the one-on-one training session for participants in the intervention group.

Study groups in NCT05223751
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
HRV4 + Breathing and Humming TrainingExperimentalOn a biweekly basis, and with the other members of their subgroup within the cohort, participants will meet with the Meo Health breathing coach on Zoom for approximately 30 minutes. These sessions will encourage participants to complete their daily exercises and provide additional respiratory training.
Receives: Behavioral: Meo Health Breathing and humming exercises
HRV4 OnlyNo interventionControl participants will complete the daily heart rate variability (HRV) reading using the HRV4Training application.

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Change from baseline to 6 months for the 6-minute walk test (6MWT)

    Distance (m) covered in six minutes from baseline to 6 months

    Measured: Baseline, 6 months

Secondary outcomes (3)
  1. Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire 12 (KCCQ12) quality of life score

    Change in Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire 12 - Quality of Life (KCCQ12-QL) score

    KCCQ12-QL score corresponds to Questions 6 and 7. Responses are coded as follows:

    Question 6 Response It has extremely limited my enjoyment of life = 1 It has limited my enjoyment of life quite a bit = 2 It has moderately limited my enjoyment of life = 3 It has slightly limited my enjoyment of life = 4 It has not limited my enjoyment of life at all = 5

    Question 7 Response Not at all satisfied = 1 Mostly dissatisfied = 2 Somewhat satisfied = 3 Mostly satisfied = 4 Completely satisfied = 5

    If responses to both questions are missing, no score is computed. Otherwise, the score is calculated by taking the average of the non-missing responses and rescaling to 0-100, as follows:

    KCCQ12-QL = 100*[(average of Questions 6 and 7) - 1]/4

    Scores are scaled 0-100, where 0 denotes the lowest reportable health status and 100 the highest.

    Measured: Baseline, 3 months, 6 months

  2. Pulmonary parameters: Peak expiratory flow

    Change in peak expiratory flow spirometry

    Measured: Baseline, 3 months, 6 months

  3. New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class (graded I-IV) Proportion Improved 1 Class

    Proportion of subjects that decreased 1 NYHA class.

    NYHA Classification - The Stages of Heart Failure:

    Class I - Cardiac disease, but no symptoms and no limitation in ordinary physical activity.

    Class II - Mild symptoms and slight limitation during ordinary activity. Class III - Significant limitation in activity due to symptoms. Comfortable only at rest.

    Class IV - Severe limitations. Symptoms even while at rest. No NYHA class listed or unable to determine.

    Measured: Baseline, 6 months

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted4 Feb 2022
  2. Study start7 Feb 2022
  3. Primary completion20 Jun 2025
  4. Study completion12 Sep 2025

Why it stopped: Enrollment goal was not reached within the allotted funding period.

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
65 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT05223751
Sponsor's protocol ID
2021-XXXX-LGHP
Acronym
PART-HF
Status last verified
Oct 2025
First submitted
25 Jan 2022
Last updated
23 Oct 2025
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Meo Health Breathing and humming exercises in people with Diastolic Heart Failure, run by Lancaster General Hospital at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 8 inclusion and 12 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: stopped early, as of the sponsor's last update on 23 Oct 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study was stopped early (reason given: Enrollment goal was not reached within the allotted funding period.). Results are not available in the source record.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Change from baseline to 6 months for the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) (time frame: Baseline, 6 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 23 Oct 2025.

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