How exercise heart MRI could explain heart failure in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Official title: Unraveling The Mechanism of Heart Failure in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy with Exercise CMR
Funded at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center · NIH-11291323 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Using exercise cardiac MRI, researchers will look at why people with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy develop heart failure and how treatments like the drug mavacamten compare with surgery.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | February 25, 2025 |
| Project end | January 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $725,029 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL177076-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11291323 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (obstructive or non-obstructive), especially those with symptoms or concern for heart failure, who can undergo MRI with contrast and exercise testing are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without HCM, those with MRI-incompatible implants, or individuals with severe kidney disease that prevents gadolinium contrast may not be able to participate or benefit.
What this research studies
You may be asked to have cardiac MRI scans at rest and after exercise, including contrast images that show scarring and measures like T1 mapping and extracellular volume. The team will compare how heart structure, function, and fibrosis change over time in people treated with mavacamten versus those who have surgical myectomy, and they will examine both left and right heart chambers and the left atrium. Advanced image analysis and AI tools may be used to better sort different HCM patterns and link imaging findings to symptoms. Follow-up visits will track safety, heart remodeling, and functional changes over months to years.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could help doctors pick the best treatment and predict who is at risk of heart failure by showing how different therapies change heart structure and scarring.
How similar studies have gone: Mavacamten has shown benefit for obstructive HCM and cardiac MRI is established for detecting fibrosis, but directly comparing long-term remodeling after mavacamten versus surgical myectomy using exercise CMR is a novel approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Nezafat, Reza — Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Nezafat, Reza
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Understanding heart failure in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy through advanced imaging techniques.
This study is looking at how heart failure happens in people with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and how a new medication called mavacamten might help, using special heart scans to understand their condition better.
-
SGLT inhibitors for non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
A testing of a diabetes drug class (SGLT2 inhibitors) to help people with non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy feel better and reduce heart-related problems.
-
Using big biobanks to understand rare gene changes in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
A large study will look at genetic data and health information from many people to better understand how rare gene changes influence hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and its risks.
-
Understanding heart disease in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy through heart tissue and blood analysis
Researchers are studying people with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy to see how genes and signaling in heart tissue and blood relate to disease progression and risk of serious heart problems.
-
Myosin binding protein C variants and heart disease
A doctor-scientist at the University of Michigan is studying how certain genetic changes in a heart protein (MYBPC3) cause hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and whether fixing the protein or its interactions could help people with this condition.
-
MEK inhibitor for severe infantile heart failure in Noonan and related RASopathies
A 12-month, multi-site trial tests whether the medicine trametinib can help infants with life-threatening heart failure due to Noonan syndrome and related genetic conditions.
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.