ArticleCirculation. Heart failure2022
Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation Ameliorates the Phenotype of Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction Through Its Anti-Inflammatory Effects.
Article in Circulation. Heart failure, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- Immunology of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.Expert review of clinical immunology · 2025Pooled it
- The efficacy of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation in heart failure management - a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2025Pooled it
- Acute right-sided transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation improves cardio-vagal baroreflex gain in patients with chronic heart failure.Clinical autonomic research : official journal of the Clinical Autonomic Research Society · 2025Trial
- Hypertension: a missing piece in HFpEF?Hypertension research : official journal of the Japanese Society of Hypertension · 2026Review
- Current concepts and challenges in pediatric diastolic dysfunction and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.Pediatric research · 2026Review
- The impact of inflammation, neuromodulation, and gut microbiota on developing cardiac fibrosis and hypertension.Cardiovascular research · 2026Review
- Neuroimmune interactions in cardiovascular homeostasis and disease.American journal of physiology. Cell physiology · 2026Review
- Activation of α7nAChR prevents maladaptive right ventricular remodeling via inhibiting the recruitment of CCR2Respiratory research · 2026Article
- The brain-heart axis: effects of cardiovascular disease on the CNS and opportunities for central neuromodulation.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2026Review
- Pocking the Ear for HFpEF?Cardiovascular drugs and therapy · 2026Article
- Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Ameliorates Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction Through Regulating Macrophage Polarization Mediated by Alpha7nAChR.Cardiovascular drugs and therapy · 2026Article
- Effects of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on cardiorespiratory fitness in patients with subacute stroke: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Article
- Balancing the autonomic scale: the promise of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation in combating cardiovascular diseases.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Review
- Gut microbiota and metabolites as potential modulators of cognitive impairment after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: a hypothesis-driven review.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- Immunometabolic regulation of cardiac macrophages in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Alpha-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor: targeting the interplay between inflammation, renin-angiotensin aldosterone system, and nervous system for the novel treatment of heart failure.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Autonomic Imbalance in Cardiomyopathy and Heart Failure: From Neurobiology to Precision Neuromodulation.Current cardiology reports · 2025Review
- Vagal Stimulation Rescues HFpEF by Altering Cardiac Resident Macrophage Function.Circulation research · 2025Article
- Long-term dietary allyl isothiocyanate, a TRPA1 agonist, ameliorates cardiac fibrosis and diastolic dysfunction in aged mice.GeroScience · 2025Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundA systemic proinflammatory state plays a central role in the development of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Low-level transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (LLTS) suppresses inflammation in animals and humans, mediated by an α7nAchR (alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor)-dependent pathway. We examined the effects of LLTS on cardiac function, inflammation, and fibrosis in the presence of α7nAchR pharmacological blockade in a rat model of HFpEF.
methodsDahl salt-sensitive rats at 7 weeks of age were treated with high-salt diet for 6 weeks to induce HFpEF, followed by 4 weeks of (1) LLTS, (2) LLTS with the α7nAchR blocker methyllycaconitine, (3) sham, and (4) olmesartan. Blood pressure, cardiac function by echocardiography, heart rate variability, and serum cytokines were measured at 13 and 17 weeks of age. Cardiac fibrosis, inflammatory cell infiltration, and gene expression were determined at 17 weeks.
resultsLLTS attenuated the increase in blood pressure; improved cardiac function; decreased inflammatory cytokines, macrophage infiltration, and fibrosis; and improved survival compared with other groups. Methyllycaconitine attenuated these effects, whereas olmesartan did not improve cardiac function or fibrosis despite maintaining similar blood pressure as LLTS. Heart rate variability was similarly improved in the LLTS and LLTS plus methyllycaconitine groups but remained low in the other groups. LLTS reversed the dysregulated inflammatory signaling pathways in HFpEF hearts.
conclusionsNeuromodulation with LLTS improved cardiac function in a rat model of HFpEF through its anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic effects. These results provide the basis for further clinical trials in humans.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.