Lung Water by Ultrasound Guided Treatment in Hemodialysis Patients (The Lust Study).

Kidney Failure, Chronic Clinical Trial

— LUST  

Official title:

Lung Water By Ultra-Sound Guided Treatment To Prevent Death and Cardiovascular Complications in High Risk End Stage Renal Disease Patients With Cardiomyopathy (Lust Study)

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02310061
• Other study ID #: ERA-EDTA-01062012
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: March 2013
• Est. completion date: July 2020

Study information

• Verified date: March 2023
• Source: Fondazione C.N.R./Regione Toscana "G. Monasterio", Pisa, Italy
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Volume overload is a leading risk factor for death and cardiovascular events in end stage renal disease patients maintained on chronic dialysis, particularly in those with myocardial ischemia and heart failure which represent a substantial fraction of this population. Early identification of volume overload may prevent cardiovascular sequel in these patients but clinical signs of volume expansion are unsatisfactory to reliably identify patients at risk and to monitor them over time. On the other hand, however reliable, standard techniques for measuring extracellular or circulating (blood) volume do not convey information on fundamental heart function parameters that determine the individual haemodynamic tolerance to volume excess and the response to ultrafiltration, i.e. left ventricular (LV) filling pressure and LV function.

Extra-vascular lung water is critically dependent on these parameters and represents a proxy of both, circulating volume and LV filling pressure and function, and may therefore be a better criterion to identify patients at a higher risk of volume-dependent adverse clinical outcomes and to monitor the effect of therapy aimed at preventing these outcomes. A fast (< 5 min.), easy to learn, simple and non-expensive technique which measures extra-vascular lung water by using standard ultrasound (US) machines has been validated in dialysis patients. Whether systematic measurement of lung water by this technique may translate into better clinical outcomes in End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients has never been tested.

The aim of this randomized clinical trial is that of testing a treatment policy guided by extra-vascular lung water measurements by ultrasound to prevent all-cause death, decompensated heart failure and non-fatal myocardial infarction in high risk dialysis patients with myocardial ischemia (a history of myocardial infarction with or without ST elevation or unstable angina, acute coronary syndrome documented by ECG recordings and cardiac troponins or stable angina pectoris with documented coronary artery disease by prior coronary angiography or ECG) or overt heart failure (NYHA class III-IV).

Description:

Randomization procedure: After enrollment, patients will be randomized in 2 groups: treatment and control. The randomization will be performed by centre, with a 1:1 allocation ratio, and it will be communicated by the coordinating centre in Reggio Calabria. An allocation concealment will be observed.

Warning: based on the principle "once randomized, always randomized", if a patient drops out the study he cannot simply be replaced by a new one. New patients must be randomized as well.

Validation of core lab data: The core data to be collected in the LUST project/subprojects should be validated by the following validation centres:

• CORE LUST STUDY DATA Echocardiographic data and US-lung data: Dr. Rosa Sicari and Dr. Luna Gargani, CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology of Pisa, Italy (rosas@ifc.cnr.it).

• ANCILLARY LUST PROJECTS Pulse Wave Velocity data (PWV): Prof. Gerard London, Service d'Hémodialyse, Hôpital F.H. Manhès, Fleury-Mérogis, France (glondon@club-internet.fr).

24 Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM) data: Prof. Francesca Mallamaci, Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation Unit and IFC-CNR, Reggio Calabria

Preliminary training on US-B lines measurement is a pre-requisite for Nephrologists and Cardiologists of each participating centre. After training (Skype meeting) an online certification will be released to certify the level of expertise about US-B lines measurements of all LUST study nephrologists and cardiologists.

Each participant centre will upload pertinent studies (echocardiography, 24h ABPM and PWV data) into the LUST website and will timely receive a feedback by the validation centres, whenever needed.

US Lung Scan technique A standard (3.0-MHz) echocardiography probe can be used for this purpose. Examinations should be performed in the supine position. To detect lung water, both sides of the chest should be scanned both in the anterior and lateral part from the second to the fourth (on the right side to the fifth) intercostals spaces, at parasternal, mid clavea, anterio-axillar and mid-axillary lines, as previously described (Am J Cardiol 2004;93:1265-70). An US-B line is a hyperechoic, coherent US bundle at narrow basis going from the pleura to the limit of the screen. These extended lines (also called comets) arise from the pleural line and should be differentiated from short comets' artifacts that may exist in other regions. US-B lines starting from the pleural line can be either localized or scattered to the whole lung and be present either as isolated US-B lines or in groups (with a distance >7 mm between 2 extended comets). The sum of US-B lines produces a score reflecting the extent of LW accumulation. If you do not detect any US-B line, the score is 0.

The investigators warn the physicians participating in the trial about fixed US-B lines, due not to lung water but to fibrosis or inflammatory processes. These comets should be registered but not counted as US-B lines. The cause that underlies these artefacts should be described.

In patients allocated to the active arm of the study, any decision about weight reduction will be taken by Nephrologists only on the basis of pre-dialysis US-scans. However, also post-dialysis US-B lines measurement must be performed and registered. In the active and in the control arm as well, US-scans will be performed by the local cardiologist in coincidence with the echocardiographic study. It is crucial for the purpose of this study that cardiologists keep nephrologists involved in the LUST study blinded with respect to the number of US-B lines of patients of the control group.

Timing

• In patients allocated to the control and the active arms, US-B lines should be performed at baseline and at 6, 12 and 24 months by the local cardiologist, in a non-dialysis day either on a Thursday or on a Friday, depending on the dialysis schedule.

• In patients allocated in the treatment arm, the application of US-B scans should be performed as follows:

• In patients with less than 15 US-B lines, ultrafiltration (UF) will not be modified and the US-B lines monitoring will be performed by the nephrologist at monthly intervals;

• In patients with more than 15 US-B lines (either at baseline or at any of the monthly US-B Lung scans) UF will be performed by scheduling longer and/or additional dialyses (see below). In these patients, monitoring of US pre-dialysis and post-dialysis -B lines will be repeated at least once a week, until the goal is achieved (see next section).

• Furthermore, in patients in the active arm, pre- and post-dialysis US-lung scans can be repeated at discretion of the nephrologist, i.e. whenever he/she believes that it can be useful applying this technique for monitoring the volume status of the patient, for example in a patient with <15 US-B lines who subsequently manifests a rise in body weight or in a patient who develops hypotension or frank hypotensive episodes during dialysis .

In brief, in the treatment group, monitoring is scheduled once a week (before and after dialysis), or even more frequently if the nephrologist believes that a more frequent monitoring may be useful to track the desired UF goal. When the number of US-B lines falls below 15, the measurements will be repeated at monthly intervals.

Weight reduction in patients with more than 15 US-B lines

In patients randomized to the treatment arm and with a number of US-B lines >15, a decrease of dry weight is required to reduce lung water, according to the following scheme derived by a pilot study at the coordinating centre and at the Iasi Nephrology Unit:

• 15-30 US-B lines: decrease dry weight by 300 g over the following week (about 100 g per session)

• 31-40 US-B lines: decrease dry weight by 450 g over the following week (about 150 g per session)

• > 40 US-B lines: decrease dry weight by 600 g over next week (about 200 g per session).

Attempts to lower dry weight according to the previous scheme should continue until the US-B lines goal (<15) is attained. If the patient does not tolerate attempts to decrease dry weight for 2 weeks (i.e. if he/she develops hypotension, cramps and other symptoms) extra haemodialysis sessions should be considered.

If the goal (<15 pre-dialysis US B-lines) is not achieved after 4-6 weeks, or in case the patient does not tolerate UF, drug treatment (carvedilol, ACEi, ARB) intensification or introduction should be considered.

Once the goal is achieved, it is recommended to confirm it by repeating the measurement of US-B lines at least once, for example before the following dialysis.

Warnings:

• In patients in the active arm with initial pre-dialysis US-B lines <15 and in those who achieve this goal thanks to body fluids subtraction who develop cramps and/or symptoms of extracellular volume depletion (low dry weight) the decision of increasing dry weight should be accompanied by close US-B lines monitoring (i.e. every dialysis session until the patient stabilizes).

• In patients with >15 pre-dialysis US-B lines who do not tolerate dry weight decrease due to hypotension and who are on hypotensive/cardioprotective drugs treatment (carvedilol/ACEi) the dose of these drugs should be down-titrated and stopped, if needed. These drugs in these patients should be always given after dialysis (before going to bed, at night) rather than pre-dialysis.

Clinical (pre-dialysis) evaluation of volume status In both groups (treatment and control group), a standard pre-dialysis clinical evaluation of volume status should be done, as it is recommended in good clinical practice. This evaluation should consider blood pressure and change of blood pressure over time, pedal edema, presence/absence of dyspnea, crackles on lung auscultation (see below), body weight gain inter-dialysis and body weight trajectory over time. In the active arm of the study these data should also be formally registered whenever US-B lines measurements are done. In the control group, evaluation of volume status needs to be formally registered only in coincidence of the echocardiographic studies.

The following scale will be used for the evaluation of Crackles :

1. No crackles

2. I am uncertain about the presence of fine crackles

3. Definite fine crackles at lung bases

4. Moderate crackles

5. Bilateral, diffuse crackles

For clinical edema, the following scale will be used:

1. No clinical edema

2. Slight pitting (2 mm depth) with no visible distortion

3. Somewhat deeper pit (4 mm) with no readily detectable distortion

4. Noticeably deep pit (6 mm) with the dependent extremity full and swollen

5. Very deep pit (8 mm) with the dependent extremity grossly distorted

Echocardiographic measurements In both the intervention and control arm, cardiologists involved in the LUST study will perform the echocardiographic measurements at baseline, 6, 12 and 24 months, in a non-dialysis day on a Thursday or on a Friday, depending on the dialysis schedule. These echocardiogram are "research echocardiograms". For this reason, it is fundamental to keep nephrologists blind about the results of these echocardiographic readings.

Nevertheless, nephrologists are allowed to consult a cardiologist (be him the LUST cardiologist or another one) for a "clinical echocardiogram" if and when clinical problems arise which demand the application of echocardiographic studies for diagnostic reasons or for monitoring any underlying cardiac problem.

Detailed information about standardization of echocardiographic study has been prepared by echocardiography validation laboratory (Dr. Rosa Sicari and Dr. Luna Gargani, IFC CNR, Pisa).

Statistical analysis plan A total sample size of 500 patients (250 per group) will be expected to provide approximately 80% power to detect a difference in the primary end point with an assumed type I error rate of .05, 2-sided.Investigators estimate that the 2 year event rate for the composite end point would be 45% in the usual care group and 30% (a 33% risk reduction) in the arm with the lung US-guided intervention. According to protocol, all patients will be followed for 24 months after randomization.

Survival analysis will be performed by the Kaplan-Meier and the Cox regression methods. Missing baseline categorical variables will be replaced with the mean or median value, as appropriate. The effect of the allocation arm on the number of US-B lines will be investigated by Linear Mixed Models (LMM).

The between arms differences in echocardiographic data (secondary end point) will be compared by T-Test, Mann-Whitney test and Linear Model Analysis, as appropriate.

A secondary analysis of the longitudinal evolution of US B lines and the time to the first event and to repeated events will be performed by the Joint Models. All analyses will be based on the principle of intention to treat and will be performed using the SPSS version 24, STATA version 13. The threshold for statistical significance will be 2 sided with a type I error rate of .05.

Long-term effect of the intervention In order to capture any long-term effect of the study intervention, data on vital status and cardiovascular events occurred to all patients alive after the intervention period will be collected for additional 24 months after the end of the study.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 383
• Est. completion date: July 2020
• Est. primary completion date: December 2019
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age > 18 years

• Dialysis vintage > 3 months

• A history of myocardial infarction with or without ST elevation or unstable angina, acute coronary syndrome, documented by ECG recordings and cardiac troponins, or stable angina pectoris with documented coronary artery disease by prior coronary angiography or ECG or dyspnoea class III-IV NYHA

• Written consent to take part in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• Cancer or other advanced non cardiac disease or comorbidity (e.g. end-stage liver failure) imposing a very poor short-term prognosis

• Active infections or relevant inter-current disease

• Inadequate lung scanning and echocardiographic studies

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Kidney Failure, Chronic
• Renal Insufficiency

Intervention

Procedure:
• Extra-vascular lung water measurements by ultrasound (LW-US)
It is widely agreed that the high prevalence of patients with LV dysfunction and heart failure and the lack of simple, non-expensive, bedside techniques that may serve to estimate and monitor parameters of central hemodynamics for guiding the prescription of ultrafiltration (UF) and drug treatment is a factor of major clinical relevance. So,in patients allocated to the active arm, nephrologists register pre- and post-dialysis US-B lines whenever considered useful for volume monitoring.

Other:
• Standard protocol of fluid management in hemodialysis
The intervention consists in applying a standard clinical approach for monitoring/tailoring fluid excess in HD patients.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
France	C.T.M.R. Saint Augustin	Bordeaux
France	Hôpital Ambroise Paré (Assistance-Publique Hôpitaux de Paris)	Boulogne Billancourt
France	Hôpital F.H. Manhès	Fleury-Mérogis
France	ALTIR - INSERM CHU de Nancy	Nancy
France	University Hospital Strasbourg	Strasbourg
Germany	Saarland University Medical Centre	Homburg/Saar
Greece	IASIO Hospital - General Clinic of Kallithea	Athens
Greece	University Hospital of Ioannina	Ioannina
Greece	Aristotle University	Thessaloniki
Israel	Shaare Zedek Medical Center	Jerusalem
Italy	University of Ferrara	Ferrara
Italy	ASL Parma	Parma
Italy	CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology	Pisa	PI
Italy	CNR-IFC Clinical Epidemiology of Renal Diseases and Hypertension Unit	Reggio Calabria	RC
Poland	Medical University of Silesia in Katowice	Katowice
Poland	Medical University	Wroclaw
Romania	University Hospital 'Dr C.I. Parhon'	Iasi
Slovenia	University Clinical Centre	Maribor
Spain	Bellvitge's University Hispital	Barcelona

Sponsors (20)

Lead Sponsor

Collaborator

Fondazione C.N.R./Regione Toscana "G. Monasterio", Pisa, Italy

Aristotle University Of Thessaloniki, ASL Parma, Azienda Ospedaliera Bianchi-Melacrino-Morelli, C.T.M.R. Saint-Augustin, Centre Hospitalier FH Manhes, Dr. C.I. Parhon Hospital, Iasi, Hospital Ambroise Paré Paris, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, IASIO Hospital - General Clinic of Kallithea, INSERM CHU de Nancy, Istituto di Fisiologia Clinica CNR, Medical University of Silesia, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Universität des Saarlandes, University Hospital, Ioannina, University Hospital, Strasbourg, University Medical Centre Maribor, Wroclaw Medical University

Countries where clinical trial is conducted

France,  Germany,  Greece,  Israel,  Italy,  Poland,  Romania,  Slovenia,  Spain, 

References & Publications (11)

Agricola E, Bove T, Oppizzi M, Marino G, Zangrillo A, Margonato A, Picano E. "Ultrasound comet-tail images": a marker of pulmonary edema: a comparative study with wedge pressure and extravascular lung water. Chest. 2005 May;127(5):1690-5. doi: 10.1378/chest.127.5.1690. — View Citation

Charra B, Calemard E, Ruffet M, Chazot C, Terrat JC, Vanel T, Laurent G. Survival as an index of adequacy of dialysis. Kidney Int. 1992 May;41(5):1286-91. doi: 10.1038/ki.1992.191. — View Citation

Cice G, Ferrara L, Di Benedetto A, Russo PE, Marinelli G, Pavese F, Iacono A. Dilated cardiomyopathy in dialysis patients--beneficial effects of carvedilol: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2001 Feb;37(2):407-11. doi: 10.1016/s0735-1097(00)01158-x. — View Citation

Crandall ED, Staub NC, Goldberg HS, Effros RM. Recent developments in pulmonary edema. Ann Intern Med. 1983 Dec;99(6):808-22. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-99-6-808. — View Citation

Jambrik Z, Monti S, Coppola V, Agricola E, Mottola G, Miniati M, Picano E. Usefulness of ultrasound lung comets as a nonradiologic sign of extravascular lung water. Am J Cardiol. 2004 May 15;93(10):1265-70. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2004.02.012. — View Citation

Kramer A, Stel V, Zoccali C, Heaf J, Ansell D, Gronhagen-Riska C, Leivestad T, Simpson K, Palsson R, Postorino M, Jager K; ERA-EDTA Registry. An update on renal replacement therapy in Europe: ERA-EDTA Registry data from 1997 to 2006. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2009 Dec;24(12):3557-66. doi: 10.1093/ndt/gfp519. Epub 2009 Oct 9. — View Citation

Mallamaci F, Benedetto FA, Tripepi R, Rastelli S, Castellino P, Tripepi G, Picano E, Zoccali C. Detection of pulmonary congestion by chest ultrasound in dialysis patients. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging. 2010 Jun;3(6):586-94. doi: 10.1016/j.jcmg.2010.02.005. — View Citation

Picano E, Frassi F, Agricola E, Gligorova S, Gargani L, Mottola G. Ultrasound lung comets: a clinically useful sign of extravascular lung water. J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2006 Mar;19(3):356-63. doi: 10.1016/j.echo.2005.05.019. — View Citation

Picano E, Gargani L, Gheorghiade M. Why, when, and how to assess pulmonary congestion in heart failure: pathophysiological, clinical, and methodological implications. Heart Fail Rev. 2010 Jan;15(1):63-72. doi: 10.1007/s10741-009-9148-8. — View Citation

Sinha AD, Agarwal R. Can chronic volume overload be recognized and prevented in hemodialysis patients? The pitfalls of the clinical examination in assessing volume status. Semin Dial. 2009 Sep-Oct;22(5):480-2. doi: 10.1111/j.1525-139X.2009.00641.x. Epub 2009 Sep 9. No abstract available. — View Citation

Staub NC. Pulmonary edema. Physiol Rev. 1974 Jul;54(3):678-811. doi: 10.1152/physrev.1974.54.3.678. No abstract available. — View Citation

* Note: There are 11 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Other	Patients who die of any cause during the follow-up	Death due to any cause	All deaths occuring over a follow-up period of 24 months
Other	Patients who develop myocardial infarction during the follow-up	Myocardial infarction as defined according to international standard.	First myocardial infarction occuring over a follow-up period of 24 months
Other	Patients who develop episodes of decompensated heart failure during the follow-up	Heart failure as defined according to international standard.	First heart failure occuring over a follow-up period of 24 months
Other	Total number of recurrent episodes of decompensated heart failure	Heart failure as defined according to international standard.	All heart failure episodes occuring over a follow-up period of 24 months
Other	Total number of recurrent cardiovascular events	All cardiovascular events as defined according to international standard.	All cardiovascular events events occuring over a follow-up period of 24 months
Other	Analysis of hypotension episodes	All hypotension episodes	All hypotension episodes occuring over a follow-up period of 24 months
Other	Correlation between repeated measurements of lung comets (by US-B lines) and the combined outcome	Analysis by joint models combining linear mixed models and survival analysis	All combined outcomes (death, myocardial infarction, decompensated heart failure) occuring over a follow-up period of 24 months
Other	Correlation between repeated measurements of lung comets (by US-B lines) and all cause mortality	Analysis by joint models combining linear mixed models and survival analysis	All deaths occuring over a follow-up period of 24 months
Other	Correlation between repeated measurements of lung comets (by US-B lines) and myocardial infarction	Analysis by joint models combining linear mixed models and survival analysis	First myocardial infarction occuring over a follow-up period of 24 months
Other	Correlation between repeated measurements of lung comets (by US-B lines) and decompensated heart failure	Analysis by joint models combining linear mixed models and survival analysis	First episode of heart failure occuring over a follow-up period of 24 months
Other	Correlation between repeated measurements of lung comets (by US-B lines) and Left Ventricular Mass Index (LVMI)	Analysis by linear mixed models	LVMI will be measured by cardiologists at baseline, 6, 12 and 24 months
Other	Correlation between repeated measurements of lung comets (by US-B lines) and Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (LVEF)	Analysis by linear mixed models	LVEF will be measured by cardiologists at baseline, 6, 12 and 24 months
Other	Correlation between repeated measurements of lung comets (by US-B lines) and Diastolic Function (E/E')	Analysis by linear mixed models	E/E' will be measured by cardiologists at baseline, 6, 12 and 24 months
Other	Correlation between repeated measurements of lung comets (by US-B lines) and Left Atrial Volume (LAV)	Analysis by linear mixed models	LAV will be measured by cardiologists at baseline, 6, 12 and 24 months
Other	Effect of allocation arm on Sleep Quality	Analysis by linear mixed models of the effect of allocation arm on Sleep Quality assessed by Berlin Questionnaire	Sleep quality will be assessed at baseline, 6, 12 and 24 months
Other	Effect of allocation arm on Quality of Life	Analysis by linear mixed models of the effect of allocation arm on Quality of life assessed by by Short Form health survey (SF36)	Quality of life will be assessed at baseline, 6, 12 and 24 months
Other	Effect of allocation arm on Depression	Analysis by linear mixed models of the effect of allocation arm on Depression assessed by Center for Epidemiologic Studies - Depression Scale (CES-D)	Depression will be assessed at baseline, 6, 12 and 24 months
Other	Effect of allocation arm on overall performance	Analysis by linear mixed models of the effect of allocation arm on overall performance assessed by Karnofsky performance score	Performance will be assessed at baseline, 6, 12 and 24 months
Other	Effect of allocation arm on Nutritional Status	Analysis by linear mixed models of the effect of allocation arm on nutritional status assessed by Subjective Global Assessment (SGA)	Nutritional Status will be assessed by at baseline, 6, 12 and 24 months
Other	Analysis of repeated measurements of lung comets (by US-B lines) over time assessed pre-dialysis	Pre-dialysis lung comets changes and study outcomes	All lung comets measured pre-dialysis over a follow-up period of 24 months
Other	Analysis of repeated measurements of lung comets (by US-B lines) over time assessed post-dialysis	Post-dialysis lung comets changes and study outcomes	All lung comets measured post-dialysis over a follow-up period of 24 months
Other	Extended follow-up analysis of the composite outcome "death, myocardial infarction, heart failure".	Myocardial infarction and heart failure will be defined on the basis of international standard protocols.	All events occurred during the 24 months follow-up (trial phase) and during 24 months after the end of the study (observational phase)
Other	Interaction analysis with extended follow-up data	As in the main trial, interaction analyses will be performed with gender, age, diabetes, ischemic heart disease, heart failure, number of US-BL, systolic blood pressure, ejection fraction.	All events occurred during the 24 months follow-up (trial phase) and during 24 months after the end of the study (observational phase)
Primary	Cumulative incidence of the composite outcome "death, myocardial infarction, heart failure".	Myocardial infarction and heart failure will be defined on the basis of international standard protocols.; - The following figures we expect to occur in the two study arms: Active arm: 30% Control arm: 45%	All events occurred during 24 months of follow up will be assessed at 2 years after the start of the study. For Time-to-Event analyses, we will consider the time from the first visit to the first occurrence of death, or MI or heart failure.
Secondary	All-cause hospitalizations	Hospitalizations due to any cause	First occurrence of all-cause hospitalization over a follow-up period of 24 months
Secondary	Cardiovascular hospitalizations	All cardiovascular events requiring hospitalization	First occurrence of cardiovascular hospitalization over a follow-up period of 24 months
Secondary	Left ventricular mass index (LVMI)	LVMI will be measured by Echocardiography.; We expect the following changes in LVMI between the two study arms: Active arm: - 2±11 Control arm: 3±11	LVMI will be measured by cardiologists at baseline, 6, 12 and 24 months
Secondary	Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF)	Left ventricular ejection fraction will be measured by Echocardiography.; We expect the following changes in LVEF between the two study arms: Active arm: 3±9% Control arm: 0±9%	LVEF will be measured by cardiologists at baseline, 6, 12 and 24 months
Secondary	Diastolic function.	Diastolic function will be assessed by Echocardiography.; We expect the following changes in E/E' between the two study arms: Active arm: -2±6 Control arm: 0±6	Diastolic function (E/E') will be measured by cardiologists at baseline, 6, 12 and 24 months
Secondary	Left atrial volume	Left atrial volume will be measured by Echocardiography.; We expect the following changes in LAV between the two study arms: Active arm: -2±17 Control arm: 4±17	Left atrial volume (LAV) will be measured by cardiologists at baseline, 6, 12 and 24 months