Inspiratory muscle training added to cardiac rehab for heart failure
Official title: Adding Inspiratory Muscle Training to Optimize Cardiac Rehabilitation for Heart Failure
Funded at Mayo Clinic Rochester · NIH-11397613 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A Mayo Clinic study will test whether training the breathing muscles alongside standard cardiac rehab helps people with heart failure feel less breathless and move more easily.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Mayo Clinic Rochester NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Rochester, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2025 |
| Project end | August 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $730,933 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL176491-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11397613 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction who are eligible for cardiac rehabilitation.
✕Less likely to help
Some individuals may not experience noticeable benefits from inspiratory muscle training or may have contraindications to respiratory muscle training.
What this research studies
If you have heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, your breathing muscles may use energy inefficiently during activity. The study adds inspiratory muscle training to a standard cardiac rehabilitation program to see if this combination improves how well you can exercise and perform daily activities. Researchers will monitor exercise tolerance, breathing efficiency, and quality of life to determine if the combined approach offers added benefits over cardiac rehab alone. The project builds on existing guidelines that favor cardiac rehab for heart failure and explores a targeted way to reduce exertional dyspnea.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients could experience less breathlessness and better ability to perform daily activities after cardiac rehab.
How similar studies have gone: Previous data suggest inspiratory muscle training can improve breathing and exercise capacity in heart failure, with added benefit when combined with exercise.
Where this research is happening
-
Mayo Clinic Rochester
Rochester, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Smith, Joshua R. — Mayo Clinic Rochester
- Study coordinator: Smith, Joshua R.
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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.