NCT05401630

Mental Stress Reactivity in Women With CMD

Recruiting now NA Last updated 29 January 2026

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Study Procedures in Post-menopause in 150 participants. Currently enrolling.

Timeline

19 July 2022

Primary endpoint
30 September 2026

31 December 2026

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Emory University
Phase	NA
Status	Recruiting now
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	non randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	none
Primary purpose	screening
Enrollment	150
Start date	19 July 2022
Primary completion	30 September 2026
Estimated completion	31 December 2026
Sites	4 locations across United States

Drugs / interventions tested

• Study Procedures

Conditions studied

• Post-menopause — all drugs for Post-menopause →

Sponsor

Emory University

Who can join

45 and older, female only, with Post-menopause. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction (CMD) occurs when there are problems in the small blood vessels/arteries of the heart, resulting in persistent chest pain that affects women.

There are an estimated 3 million women in the US with CMD and about 100,000 new cases annually. This research will investigate whether the stress response physiology and autonomic function in response to mental stress are different in women with CMD compared to other groups. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls normally involuntary activities, such as heart rate, respiration (breathing), body temperature, blood pressure, and urinary function. This study will also examine how chronic and daily life mental stress affects the heart and blood vessels.

Participants from this study will be recruited mainly from Emory Healthcare-associated hospitals, the Emory Heart Disease Center for Prevention, and Emory Healthcare outpatient cardiology clinics. Participants will have physical exams, blood tests, stress tests, exercise tests, surveys, questionnaires, and images taken of their hearts and blood vessels. They will be asked to take home devices to monitor their autonomic function, sleep, and track their mood, stress level, and symptoms for one week. Data and specimens will be saved for future research.

Publications & conference data

1 peer-reviewed publication reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. Mental Stress-Induced Myocardial Ischemia.
   Mehta PK, Sharma A, Bremner JD, Vaccarino V. · · 2022 · cited 25× · PMID 36322365 · DOI 10.1007/s11886-022-01821-2