Exercise training for people with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)
Official title: Efficacy of exercise training in patients with HFpEF
Funded at VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System · NIH-11329777 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tests whether blocking specific muscle nerve signals with a spinal fentanyl injection changes circulation, muscle fatigue, and exercise ability in people with HFpEF compared with healthy controls.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Salt Lake City, United States) |
| Project start | October 1, 2020 |
| Project end | September 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01RX003343-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-11329777 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults diagnosed with HFpEF who experience exercise intolerance and are medically stable and willing to undergo lumbar intrathecal injection, MRI, and exercise testing would be ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People with reduced ejection fraction heart failure, unstable medical conditions, contraindications to spinal injections or MRI, or who cannot perform exercise testing are unlikely to be eligible or directly helped by this protocol.
What this research studies
If you join, you would perform supervised voluntary and passive exercise sessions while researchers measure your blood flow, blood pressure reflexes, and muscle fatigue. At times you would receive a small lumbar intrathecal fentanyl injection to temporarily block certain muscle nerve signals so the team can compare exercise with and without that feedback. They will use femoral nerve stimulation to measure central and peripheral fatigue and 31-phosphorus MR spectroscopy of the thigh muscle to look at metabolic changes during exercise. Results from people with HFpEF will be compared to well-matched healthy volunteers to pinpoint what contributes to exercise intolerance.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: The findings could point to new ways to reduce fatigue and improve exercise tolerance for people with HFpEF.
How similar studies have gone: Blocking group III/IV muscle afferents with intrathecal fentanyl has been used in prior human studies to change exercise responses, but applying this approach specifically to HFpEF is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System
Salt Lake City, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Amann, Markus — VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System
- Study coordinator: Amann, Markus
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Resistance Exercise Training for Blood Pressure and Blood Vessel Health in Middle-Aged Women
A large study will test whether 16 weeks of supervised resistance exercise can lower blood pressure and improve blood vessel health in women aged 40–64 with high blood pressure.
-
Time-of-day exercise and social jetlag: protecting the heart and metabolic health
A study to see if misaligned daily schedules (social jetlag) reduce the benefits of exercise on heart and metabolic health in adults.
-
Intranasal insulin plus exercise to protect brain health in adults with type 2 diabetes
A small study will test whether combining inhaled insulin with aerobic exercise can improve brain blood flow, insulin signaling in the brain, and thinking skills in adults with type 2 diabetes.
-
High-intensity exercise to improve language after stroke
This project looks at whether a tailored high-intensity exercise program can help people with aphasia after stroke improve their speaking, thinking, and well-being.
-
Cognitive-behavioral therapy then exercise to lower type 2 diabetes risk in teenage girls
Teen girls at risk for type 2 diabetes will try short-term talking therapy first, then structured exercise, to help lift mood, increase activity, and lower diabetes risk.
-
Live online exercise program for wheelchair users
This project uses live, home-based exercise sessions over videoconference to try to improve heart and metabolic health for adults who use wheelchairs.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.