Development of an Algorithm to Detect Pulmonary Hypertension Using an Electronic Stethoscope

NCT ID: NCT05873387

Last Updated: 2026-01-21

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Total Enrollment

2420 participants

Study Classification

OBSERVATIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-07-12

Study Completion Date

2026-12-31

Brief Summary

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The major goal of the study is to determine whether phonocardiography (using the Eko DUO stethoscope which can capture a three lead ECG reading) can present features that relate to the presence of PH diagnosed by echocardiography or right heart catheterization (RHC), and therefore have a potential to assist the provider to suspect PH.

Detailed Description

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Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a syndrome resulting from restricted flow through the pulmonary circulation causing increased pulmonary vascular resistance and ultimately right heart failure. There are several different subtypes of PH, however, all carry a poor prognosis and often result in or hasten death. Multiple pathogenic pathways have been implicated in the development of PH, including those at the molecular and genetic levels and in the smooth muscle and endothelial cells and adventitia.

Patients with PH are classified into five groups based on the etiology and mechanism of the disease group.1 Group 1, also called pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), is associated with several other systemic diseases (e.g., connective tissue disease), genetic syndromes, or drugs. Whereas, group 2 is associated with left-sided heart disease. Group 3 is due to chronic lung disorders and hypoxemia. Group 4 is due to pulmonary artery obstructions and is the subtype found in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Lastly, Group 5 is idiopathic PH or PH with unidentified mechanism.

PH is a major pathophysiological disorder that can involve multiple clinical conditions and can complicate most cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. PH is defined as an increase in mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) \>20 mm Hg at rest, as assessed by right heart catheterization. Due to the invasive nature of right heart catheterization, echocardiography is an established non-invasive alternative diagnostic tool.

About 80% of all right heart catheterizations have evidence of elevated PA pressures (mPAP\> 19 mm HG) and \~60% have a mean PA pressure \> 25 mm Hg. Also, the prevalence of elevated PA pressure is \~ 50% on clinically indicated echocardiograms.5 Elevated PA pressure either by echocardiography or right heart catheterization is associated with increased mortality, hospitalizations and heart failure admissions.

However, since PH requires either echocardiogram or invasive catheterization, it remains underdiagnosed. Identification of a minimally invasive and rapid screening process for PH will help identify this at risk group in a primary care setting to target for further evaluation and aggressive risk factor modification. We hypothesize that combining phonocardiography (PCG) from heart auscultation with electrocardiography (ECG) may provide specific elements that correlate with PA pressures on echocardiogram and can help screen for the probability of pulmonary hypertension in a patient.

Conditions

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Pulmonary Hypertension

Study Design

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Observational Model Type

COHORT

Study Time Perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Study Groups

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Echocardiography ground-truth

Subjects with ECG/PCG recordings labeled against echocardiography

Use of Eko DUO stethoscope (paired ECG/PCG)

Intervention Type DEVICE

Auscultation of heart sounds using electronic stethoscope

Right heart catheterization ground-truth

Subjects with ECG/PCG recordings labeled against right heart catheterization

Use of Eko DUO stethoscope (paired ECG/PCG)

Intervention Type DEVICE

Auscultation of heart sounds using electronic stethoscope

Interventions

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Use of Eko DUO stethoscope (paired ECG/PCG)

Auscultation of heart sounds using electronic stethoscope

Intervention Type DEVICE

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Patients, ages \>18 years, referred for complete 2-dimensional echocardiography or right heart catheterization will be screened for inclusion.

Exclusion Criteria

* Patients undergoing limited echocardiography
* Intubated patients
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Eko Devices, Inc.

INDUSTRY

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Guarav Choudhary, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Lifespan

Locations

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Rhode Island Hospital

Providence, Rhode Island, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

The Miriam Hospital

Providence, Rhode Island, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Providence VA Medical Center

Providence, Rhode Island, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Spencer Kieu

Role: CONTACT

714-623-6652

Facility Contacts

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Kelly Franchetti

Role: primary

Lori-Ann Desimone

Role: primary

Pamela Brewer, PhD, RN

Role: primary

401-273-71oo

Other Identifiers

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2023.3

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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