Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Biofeedback to Treat Ulcerative Colitis

March 11, 2026 updated by: Robert Hirten, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback in the Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis

This is a prospective interventional study exploring the modifiability of physiological metrics, namely Heart Rate Variability (HRV), using a 5-week standardized HRV biofeedback intervention in subjects with symptomatic ulcerative colitis. Participants will be followed for 17 weeks. The goal is the understand if modifying these markers can impact ulcerative colitis related symptoms.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

23

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adult subjects (18-65 years old)
  • Ulcerative colitis with a symptomatic flare (SCCAI ≥3) and without inflammation (FC<250µg/ml)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals who take medications known to alter heart rate variability
  • Individuals with pacemakers or other implantable devices

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: HRV biofeedback
An HRV biofeedback tool will be employed in which individuals will breathe at their resonance frequency to optimize HRV and autonomic nervous system signatures.
Behavioral: HRV biofeedback
An HRV biofeedback tool will be employed and utilized by individuals each day for the first 5 weeks during the intervention period.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Irritable Bowel Syndrome Symptom Severity Scale Score
Time Frame: at end of Week 5
Clinical symptom improvement: Improvement in a clinical symptom score. Responders will be classified as those with an Irritable Bowel Syndrome Symptom Severity Scale (IBS-SSS; full scale range 0-500, where severe symptoms are ≥ 300) that decreases by ≥ 50 points at the end of week 5.
at end of Week 5

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Robert Hirten, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

June 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

April 30, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

April 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 28, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 28, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

June 7, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 13, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 11, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • STUDY-21-00870

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

There are limitations in our institutional review board approval relating to individual patient level data sharing.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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