Helping people with heart failure and mild thinking problems manage their care through mindfulness and body-awareness
Official title: Targeting cognitive function and interoceptive awareness to improve self-management in patients with co-morbid heart failure and cognitive impairment.
Funded at Miriam Hospital · NIH-11372024 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project teaches mindfulness and attention skills to help people with heart failure and mild thinking problems notice symptoms and follow medicines and lifestyle advice more reliably.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Miriam Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Providence, United States) |
| Project start | May 5, 2022 |
| Project end | April 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $644,639 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AG076438-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11372024 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults with diagnosed heart failure who also have mild cognitive impairment, can provide informed consent, and can attend the Providence study site visits.
✕Less likely to help
People without heart failure, without cognitive impairment, with severe dementia, or who cannot participate in required visits are unlikely to benefit from this intervention.
What this research studies
You would learn mindfulness practices and exercises to improve attention and awareness of internal bodily signals that can signal worsening heart failure. Sessions combine attention training, relaxation techniques that support vagal (parasympathetic) control, and practical strategies to support daily self-care like taking medicines and monitoring symptoms. The team will track thinking skills, symptom awareness, self-care behaviors, and clinical outcomes such as hospital readmissions, and may collect biological markers related to heart and brain function. The program is delivered through Miriam Hospital with regular sessions and follow-up over several months.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help people with heart failure and mild cognitive problems notice worsening symptoms earlier, stick to treatments better, and reduce hospital readmissions.
How similar studies have gone: Small prior studies suggest mindfulness can improve attention and interoceptive awareness and may help cognitive function, but applying these methods specifically to people with both heart failure and mild cognitive impairment is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Miriam Hospital
Providence, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Salmoirago-Blotcher, Elena — Miriam Hospital
- Study coordinator: Salmoirago-Blotcher, Elena
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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.