Eccentric (braking) cycling instead of regular pedaling for people with left heart failure
Official title: Visa-versa! Breaking Instead of Pushing the Pedals: Eccentric Exercise to Improve Training Performance in Patients With Heart Failure. A Single-center Randomized Controlled Trial
Run by University of Zurich · NCT05204693 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This will try short sessions of eccentric (braking) cycling versus regular cycling in people with left-heart failure to see if it builds leg muscle and fitness while using less oxygen and putting less strain on the heart.
Quick facts
| Study type | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Ages | 18 Years to 80 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 16 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | University of Zurich Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Zurich, Canton of Zurich) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | June 1, 2025 |
| Main results expected | October 31, 2025 |
| Study ends | December 31, 2025 |
| Registry record updated | June 13, 2025 |
| Trial ID | NCT05204693 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a good fit
Adults with left-heart disease who are clinically stable on the same disease-specific medication for more than four weeks and who can safely ride a bicycle are the intended candidates.
✕Probably not a fit
People with severe daytime hypoxemia, significant renal/hepatic or other comorbid conditions, inability to cycle, known pregnancy, or those already in another interventional trial are unlikely to receive benefit from this program.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
What this trial studies
This interventional program tests whether eccentric (lengthening or braking) cycling can deliver higher muscle training power with a much lower oxygen and cardiac demand than standard concentric cycling in people with left-heart failure. Enrolled patients who have been on stable disease-specific medication for more than four weeks perform supervised cycling sessions that include 15 minutes of eccentric cycling and 15 minutes of concentric (normal) cycling while physiological responses are monitored. Key outcomes include changes in muscle strength and mass, exercise capacity, and cardiopulmonary load during and after the intervention. The study excludes people with severe daytime hypoxemia, major comorbidities, inability to ride a bicycle, pregnancy, or current enrollment in another interventional trial, and is run at the Respiratory Clinic of the University Hospital of Zurich.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could increase leg muscle and exercise capacity in people with left-heart failure while placing less strain on the heart and lungs.
How similar studies have gone: Eccentric training has shown promising muscle and low-oxygen-cost benefits in other cardiopulmonary populations, but its specific application in left-heart failure is relatively novel and less well studied.
Who can join: the full rules
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * In a stable condition on the same disease specific medication \>4 weeks. * Signed informed consent. * Patients with left-heart disease Exclusion Criteria: * Severe daytime hypoxemia (pO2 ≤7.3 kPa or \<55 mmHg). * Other clinically significant concomitant disease states (e.g., renal, hepatic dysfunction, etc.). * Inability to follow the procedures of the study, e.g. due to language problems, psychological disorder, dementia or confusional state of the subject, neurological or orthopedic problems with inability to ride a bicycle. * Woman with known pregnancy (Women with known pregnancy will not be allowed into the study. It will however not be searched for early unknown pregnancy in woman of child-bearing potential, as cycling is not contraindicated in early unknown pregnancy stage and we thus do not plan routine pregnancy tests before study entrance in women of childbearing potential). * Enrolment into another clinical trial with active treatment.
Where it's running
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Respiratory Clinic, University Hospital of Zurich
Zurich, Canton of Zurich, Switzerland Recruiting
Study contacts
- Study coordinator: Silvia Ulrich, Prof. Dr.
- Email: silvia.ulrich@usz.ch
- Phone: +41442552220
Similar studies
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How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.