American Heart Month: 5 Ongoing Clinical Trials Shaping the Future of Cardiovascular Care
In the United States alone, an estimated 6.7 million adults over the age of 20 are living with heart failure, and approximately 805,000 people experience a heart attack each year—about one every 40 seconds. American Heart Month, observed each February, serves as a reminder that continued awareness, prevention efforts, and ongoing research are essential to improving heart health outcomes.
Clinical research plays a key role in advancing cardiovascular care by helping develop new treatments, improving existing therapies, and expanding options for patients living with heart disease. However, finding and understanding relevant clinical trials can often be challenging for individuals. TrialX helps make this process easier by connecting people with clinical trials they may be eligible for, based on their condition and location.
In this blog, we highlight five active and recruiting cardiovascular clinical trials improving heart health and patient outcomes.
1. The Mayo Clinic Heart & Voice Study: Using Voice to Monitor Heart Health
Sponsor: Mayo Clinic
What It’s Testing and Why It Matters
This study is exploring whether short voice recordings from smartphones can help monitor heart health. Participants use their own Apple or Android phones to record brief voice samples, such as reading a short script or holding vowel sounds. Researchers analyze these recordings using computer models to look for patterns in the voice that may be linked to heart health changes. These patterns can reflect things like breathing, heart rhythm, and overall physical stress.
Why It Stands Out
The study uses a non-invasive, at-home approach and does not require clinic visits for voice recordings. Participants record their voice every few weeks using a Mayo Clinic app. The large number of participants helps researchers study heart health patterns across a wide population.
What It Could Mean for Patients
If successful, this study could:
- Support earlier detection of heart health risks
- Make long-term monitoring easier and more convenient
- Reduce the need for frequent in-person visits
Locations
This study is recruiting in the United States.
Learn more about the study and check your eligibility here.
2. The OCEAN(a)-PreEvent Study: Lowering Lipoprotein(a) to Prevent First Heart Events
Sponsor: Amgen
What It’s Testing and Why It Matters
This study is testing a drug called olpasiran to see if it can lower the risk of a first major heart event, such as a heart attack or the need for urgent heart procedures. The study focuses on people with high levels of lipoprotein(a), also called Lp(a). Lp(a) is a type of cholesterol that is mostly inherited and cannot be easily lowered with diet or standard medications. High Lp(a) levels are linked to a higher risk of heart disease, even in people who feel well.
Why It Stands Out
This is a large, phase 3 study designed to find out whether lowering Lp(a) can actually prevent serious heart events before they happen. Participants receive either olpasiran or a placebo through injections, allowing researchers to compare results over time. The study includes people from many countries, helping researchers understand how the treatment works across a wide population.
What It Could Mean for Patients
If effective, this study could offer a new treatment for people with high Lp(a), help prevent first-time heart attacks or urgent heart procedures, and address a heart risk that currently has few treatment options.
Locations
This study is recruiting at multiple sites across the United States, Canada, Australia, and other countries.
Learn more and check your eligibility here.
3. Using AI Text Messaging to Improve Life’s Essential 8 Heart Health Behaviors
Sponsor: University of Colorado, Denver
What It’s Testing and Why It Matters
This study is testing whether text messages and AI-powered chatbots can help people better manage their heart health and lower their risk of cardiovascular disease.
Researchers are focusing on the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8, which includes blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, physical activity, body weight, diet, smoking, and sleep. These factors play a major role in heart disease, especially for people who face barriers such as low income, limited English proficiency, or limited access to care.
Why It Stands Out
The study compares three different approaches:
- Simple weekly text messages
- Interactive AI chatbot messages
- AI chatbot messages combined with proactive support from a pharmacist
By testing these approaches side by side, researchers want to understand which method best supports people in managing medications, making healthier choices, and staying engaged in their care.
What It Could Mean for Patients
This study may encourage healthier day-to-day heart habits, support better management of conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes, and demonstrate how AI and text-based tools can improve access to care for underserved communities. The findings could also help health systems use digital tools more effectively to support patients beyond in-person clinic visits.
Locations
This study is enrolling participants in Colorado.
Learn more about the study and see if you may be eligible to participate.
4. Smartphone-Based 12-Lead ECG for Faster Heart Attack Diagnosis
Sponsor: AliveCor
What It’s Testing and Why It Matters
This study is evaluating whether a smartphone-based 12-lead ECG device can accurately detect serious heart attacks, including ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI).
Today, standard 12-lead ECG machines are used in hospitals to diagnose heart attacks, but they are not always easily portable. AliveCor has developed a compact device that connects to a smartphone and can generate a full 12-lead ECG using fewer sensors.
Why It Stands Out
The AliveCor 12-lead ECG system:
- Uses a smartphone-connected device
- Records four ECG leads and digitally generates the remaining leads
- Aims to match the accuracy of standard hospital ECG machines
This study compares ECG results from the smartphone device with traditional 12-lead ECGs to see if they provide equally reliable results in emergency settings.
What It Could Mean for Patients
If the device proves effective, it could:
- Support faster diagnosis of heart attacks
- Improve access to ECG testing in emergency rooms and cardiac catheterization labs
- Help clinicians make quicker treatment decisions when minutes matter
This could be especially valuable in urgent care situations where speed and portability are critical.
Locations
This study is recruiting participants at two U.S. sites, including Mayo Clinic (Minnesota) and Intermountain Health (Utah).
Check out more about the study here.
5. The PulsePoint Study: Helping Bystanders Save Lives During Cardiac Arrest
Sponsor: Dr. Steven Brooks (Queen’s University)
What It’s Testing and Why It Matters
The PulsePoint Study is testing whether a mobile phone alert system can help more people receive CPR or defibrillator help before emergency responders arrive during a sudden cardiac arrest in a public place.
When a cardiac arrest happens outside a hospital, every minute matters. Quick action from nearby bystanders can greatly increase a person’s chance of survival—but this does not always happen.
Why It Stands Out
PulsePoint uses smartphone technology to alert CPR-trained people who are nearby when a possible cardiac arrest is reported to 9-1-1. The app:
- Sends alerts to users within about 400 meters of the emergency
Shows the exact location of the person in need - Points responders to the nearest public defibrillator (AED)
In this study, some emergency calls include PulsePoint alerts, while others follow standard emergency dispatch only. Researchers then compare outcomes between the two groups.
What It Could Mean for Patients
If this proves effective, it could:
- Increase the number of people receiving early CPR or defibrillation
- Improve survival rates after sudden cardiac arrest
- Help communities respond faster while ambulances are on the way
Locations
This study is taking place in the United States and Canada, including sites in Ohio, British Columbia, and Manitoba.
Check out more about the study here.
Explore Ongoing Heart Health Research
If you’re interested in learning more about cardiovascular clinical trials or exploring studies you may be eligible for, visit TrialX.com to search for trials or sign up for our volunteer registry to stay informed about future research opportunities.
For additional information and heart health resources, you may also explore organizations dedicated to cardiovascular research and education, including the American Heart Association (AHA),National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC – Heart Disease Division).
