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Exercise heart MRI in people with aortic aneurysm

Tests exercise MRI to study how the aorta behaves during exercise in aneurysm patients.

Key facts

Who runs it
The Cleveland Clinic
Where
Cleveland, United StatesSee the site
Trial code
Registry title
Exercise Physiology in Patients With Aortic Aneurysm and Its Correlation With Mechanical Properties of Aortic Tissue
Status
Recruiting
People taking part
35 people, planned
Started
23 Nov 2023
Expected to end
31 Mar 2029
Type of study
Interventional, 3 groups
Treatments tested
  • Exercise MRI
Record updated
2 January 2026

Who can take part

AI summary

From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.

The trial is looking for adults with an aortic aneurysm (a bulge in the main body artery), and healthy adults for comparison. Everyone has an MRI scan of the heart while pedalling.

Age
18 years or older
Sex
All sexes
Disease stage
Three groups: healthy people with no heart or blood vessel disease, high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol; aneurysm patients being monitored without surgery; aneurysm patients admitted at CCF for planned surgery.
Earlier treatment
The monitored group must not have had surgery for the aortic aneurysm. Healthy people cannot join if they take heart-protecting medicine.

Main reasons for not taking part

  • Cannot have an MRI, for example a pacemaker, implanted stimulator, ear implant, drug pump, metal pieces, aneurysm clips, stents outside the heart or filters
  • Heart problems present from birth, an A-V fistula or abnormal blood flow between heart chambers
  • Moderate or severe problems in more than one heart valve
  • Strong fear of closed spaces, unable to pedal a bicycle lying down, or needing extra oxygen
  • Healthy people with a bicuspid aortic valve seen on MRI; surgery patients with an aortic tear from injury

The registry criteria, word for word

Show all 13 criteriaShow less

Who can take part

  • Healthy controls for baseline comparison; Must be 18 years or older; No history of cardiovascular disease, neither hypertension, diabetes nor hypercholesterolemia
  • Aneurysm patients who have not yet been operated on but are currently being monitored; Must be 18 years or older; No history of operation for aortic aneurysm
  • Pre-operative aneurysm patients: imaged pre-operatively and 12 months; Patients admitted at the CCF cardiothoracic services for elective surgery due to aortic aneurysms; Must be 18 years or older

Who cannot take part

  • Healthy controls for baseline comparison; Excluded if using cardioprotective medication; Have a bicuspid aortic valve diagnosed using MRI
  • Contra-indication for MRI; Heart pacemaker/defibrillator; Electronic/implanted stimulators or devices, including deep brain stimulator, vagus nerve stimulator, bladder stimulator, spine stimulator, neurostimulators; implanted electrodes or wires; Cochlear implant or other ear implants; Implanted drug pumps (insulin, narcotic/pain medications, drugs to treat spasticity); Programmable shunt; Aneurysm clips and coils; Stents (not located in heart); Filters (for example, blood clot filters); Metal fragment in your body or eye (eg, BBs, bullets, shrapnel, metal pieces or shavings)
  • Congenital heart diseases such as patent ductus arteriosus, coarctation of aorta, ASD and VSD
  • Presence of A-V fistula or intracardiac shunts
  • For all patients:
  • Moderate or severe dysfunction in multiple valves
  • Patients with significant claustrophobia
  • Patients unable to pedal a supine bicycle
  • Those who require supplemental oxygen; Specific Exclusion Criteria:
  • Pre-operative aneurysm patients: imaged pre-operatively and at 12 months a. Patients with traumatic aortic rupture

Where in United States

  • Cleveland ClinicCleveland, United StatesContact: Jonathan PutnamTaking people

About the trial

What the trial wants to find out

Aortic aneurysm patients benefit from exercise yet patients and physicians do not know a safe level. Cardiac MRI (CMR) is the most comprehensive imaging modality for phenotypic evaluation of patients with cardiac disease but it has not been used to study aneurysm patients. The purpose of this project is use exercise CMR to understand regional aortic function and quantify aortic elasticity in these populations while exercising. This project will correlate the exercise CMR data with the biomechanical properties of the patient's aortic tissue, including epiaortic ultrasound and TEE performed during aortic repair, and explanted aortic specimens subjected to ex vivo uniaxial tensile testing. Correlating this data with aortic response to exercise will allow us to understand how aortic size, in vivo circumferential strain values, ex vivo aortic efficiency and mechanical failure all relate to exercise physiology.

The 3 groups in the trial

  • Healthy ControlsTreatment being tested

    Exercise MRI

    Treatment: Exercise MRI

  • Aneurysm Being MonitoredTreatment being tested

    Exercise MRI

    Treatment: Exercise MRI

  • Pre-operative Aneurysm PatientsTreatment being tested

    Exercise MRI

    Treatment: Exercise MRI

Questions to ask the study team

  1. How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
  2. Are travel costs paid?
  3. Can I keep my own doctor?
  4. What happens if I want to stop?

Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations

Print a page for my doctor

Data and sources

Registry record
Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Official title
Exercise Physiology in Patients With Aortic Aneurysm and Its Correlation With Mechanical Properties of Aortic Tissue
Plain-language title
Exercise heart MRI in people with aortic aneurysmGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 14 November 2026.
Record updated
2 January 2026