NHLBI's Program for VAD Therapy for Moderately Advanced Heart Failure: The REVIVE-IT Pilot Trial

Background Ventricular assist devices (VADs) are used to bridge heart failure patients to transplantation to allow their own hearts to recover or as permanent (destination) therapy To date the use of VADs has been limited to late-stage heart failure patients because of the associated device risks In 2008 a National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) working group met to evaluate the treatment of heart failure using VADs and to advise the institute on how therapy for heart failure may be best advanced by clinical trials involving the devices Methods and Results Recognizing the improvements in VAD technology and in patient care and selection over the past decade the working group recommended that a trial be performed to assess the use of chronic VAD therapy in patients who are less ill than those currently eligible for destination therapy The hypothesis proposed for the trial is that VAD therapy may improve both survival and quality of life in moderately advanced heart failure patients who are neither inotrope-dependent nor exercise-intolerant and have not yet developed serious consequences such as malnourishment end-organ damage and immobility Conclusion Based on the group's recommendations NHLBI issued an RFP in 2009 for the REVIVE-IT Pilot Trail, which will serve to test the hypothesis and inform the pivotal trial (J Cardiac Fail 2010 16 855-858)