The Need for FibEr Addition in SympTomatic Heart Failure

The Need for FibEr Addition in SympTomatic Heart Failure

FEAST-HF is a single-centre clinical trial in ambulatory patients with chronic HF to evaluate whether dietary supplementation with acacia gum reduces HF-related biomarkers NT-proBNP and ST2 and how the gut microbiome responds to dietary supplementation with acacia gum. The hypotheses of this study are 1) that changes in the gut microbiome will be correlated with a reduction in NT-proBNP and ST2 in patients with HF after treatment with acacia gum, and 2) gut microbiome configurations (composition, diversity), stability and function (gene content) will be significantly altered in patients with HF in response to acacia gum.

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 years of age or older
• Willing and able to provide informed consent
• Patients with established Heart Failure (as per their treating physician) including those with both reduced and preserved ejection fraction

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients requiring a special diet that would prohibit the intervention (e.g. celiac disease, irritable bowel disease)
• Patients who do not control their own meals (e.g. meals-on-wheels, long-term care)
• Patients with conditions that would interfere with the analysis of the microbiome (e.g. chronic diarrhea, recent antibiotics within the past month)