The Effects of IL-1 Blockade on Inotrope Sensitivity in Patients With Heart Failure (AID-HEART)
About This Trial
End-stage heart failure (HF) is a progressive illness with a mortality rate similar to most advanced cancers.Roughly 5% of patients with HF have end-stage disease that is refractory to medical therapy (stage D heart failure). When patients reach this point in their disease, the only treatments known to prolong life are cardiac transplantation or left ventricular assist devices. In patients who do not qualify for these options, or elect a palliative approach, inotropes are frequently used to improve hemodynamics through an increase in cardiac output and reduction in filling pressures. While inotropes provide profound symptomatic relief, these benefits are accompanied by significant risks of progressive adverse cardiac remodeling, arrhythmias, and sudden death. There is, therefore, an urgent need to develop strategies to reduce the dose or duration of inotrope use in the management of patients with stage D of HF.
Who May Be Eligible (Plain English)
Original Eligibility Criteria
View original clinical language
Treatments Being Tested
Anakinra
Anakinra 100 mg SC daily will be administered to sujects on chronic inotrope treatment who are not candidates for transplantation or left ventricular assist device (LVAD).