Food As Medicine for Heart Failure
Malnutrition and unintentional weight loss are highly prevalent among patients with heart failure (HF), with approximately 50% of patients with heart failure meeting malnutrition criteria. Poor dietary quality and micronutrient deficiencies are associated with higher rates of HF hospitalization and mortality. Therefore nutritional interventions to improve dietary quality and prevent malnutrition development may represent an effective strategy to improve HF-related health status and survival outcomes. To date, there are no large clinical trials investigating the efficacy of 'food as medicine' to improve morbidity and mortality for patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The investigators plan to conduct a single-center, randomized pilot trial to assess the tolerability, feasibility, and efficacy of providing medically-tailored meals (MTMs) to patients with HFrEF and malnutrition. The investigators hypothesize that home delivery of MTMs will be feasible, well-tolerated and achieve a high degree of satisfaction for patients with HFrEF. The proposed pilot study is a randomized crossover trial, in which each subject receives a 12-week standard of care phase with self-directed dietary intake and a 12-week MTM dietary intervention phase, with a 4-week washout period between the two phases. Meals will be designed, prepared and delivered by our community based organized partner, Community Servings. The investigators will measure HF-related health status, functional capacity, and biomarkers of heart failure and nutritional status before and after each study phase. The proposed study will facilitate a larger future randomized trial of MTM for patients with HFrEF and malnutrition, powered to examine the impact on HF hospitalizations and mortality.
Start: April 2021