Heart failure & cardiomyopathies

Rationale and design of a randomized, sham-controlled, clinical trial for evaluation of the Edwards APTURE transcatheter shunt system (ALT-FLOW II)

Eur J Heart FailPublished Design paper of a randomised controlled trial

Study context

Population
Symptomatic heart failure (HF) patients ≥18 years with LVEF >40%, exercise pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) ≥25 mm Hg and PCWP to right atrial pressure gradient ≥8 mm Hg; excluding severe HF, significant valvular disease, more than mild RV dysfunctionplanned (approximately)
Participants
100 patients
Planned comparison
APTURE shunt vs sham control
Primary endpoint
Safety of the APTURE device; change in workload-corrected PCWP normalized to bodyweight
Follow-up
30 days (safety); 6 months (PCWP)
Methodological detailsprospective, multicentre, sham-controlled, double-blind (patient and assessor), 1:1 randomisation
  • Prospective
  • Multicentre
  • Sham-controlled
  • Double-blind (patient and assessor)
  • 1:1 randomisation

No results yet. This paper sets out the design of a trial; its results are to come.

Original publication

Rationale and design of a randomized, sham-controlled, clinical trial for evaluation of the Edwards APTURE transcatheter shunt system (ALT-FLOW II). Eur J Heart Fail. Published 8 January 2026. doi:10.1093/ejhf/xuaf016

Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it

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