Understanding how heart energy and pumping power limit exercise in healthy people and heart failure
Official title: Multi-Scale Systems Analysis of Metabolic and Mechanical Determinants of Reserve Cardiac Power Output
Funded at University of Michigan at Ann Arbor · NIH-11593445 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A research project using computer models to study how heart energy and pumping strength, plus blood vessel and nervous system factors, limit exercise capacity in healthy adults and people with heart failure.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Michigan at Ann Arbor NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Ann Arbor, United States) |
| Project start | June 15, 2024 |
| Project end | May 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $289,278 |
| NIH project number | 3R01HL173346-03S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11593445 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with and without heart failure who can participate in exercise assessments and imaging studies may be included.
✕Less likely to help
If a person cannot participate in the required assessments or has conditions excluding them from imaging or exercise testing, they may not benefit.
What this research studies
This project builds a multi-scale computer model of the heart and whole-body cardiovascular system to explore why some people have limited cardiac power during exercise. It combines data from healthy volunteers and heart failure patients to simulate metabolism, heart muscle mechanics, and vascular responses. By testing different scenarios, it aims to identify key contributors to reduced exercise capacity and potential targets for therapy. The work is designed to translate into better understanding of why aging and heart disease impair physical performance.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the research could inform personalized strategies to improve exercise tolerance in heart disease and aging.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies using computational models and human data have advanced understanding of exercise physiology, with growing evidence for multi-scale approaches.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Beard, Daniel a — University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
- Study coordinator: Beard, Daniel a
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.