Summary
Isoproterenol has reached the approved stage (maximum clinical phase 4) for at least one indication, so its use in Heart Failure would be drug repurposing rather than first-in-human development. This does not mean it is approved for Heart Failure. ClinicalTrials.gov lists 1 registered trial linking Isoproterenol to Heart Failure: 1 has completed. None of the registered studies carries a drug-development phase label, which is typical for behavioural, device and supplement protocols. It plans or enrolled 40 participants. Registered activity dates to 2015. The literature layer holds 9 publications for this pair: 1 Cochrane review, 1 meta-analysis, 1 systematic review, 1 randomised controlled trial publication and 5 clinical trial publications. Publication years run from 1976 to 2018. Because at least one synthesis-level source exists (systematic review, meta-analysis or Cochrane review), this pair has been assessed beyond single studies, although the synthesis may concern a different indication.
The RepurpOS disease-intelligence file for Heart Failure ranks 616 candidate therapeutics from Open Targets, ChEMBL, DGIdb and PubMed; only a minority carry direct clinical evidence, and this page covers one of those. Spontaneous remission context recorded for the condition: Annual mortality ~22% on standard care; only 5-11% of HFrEF patients achieve normalisation of ejection fraction (HFrecEF) with GDMT; HFpEF has no disease-modifying therapy.
Evidence table
| Evidence tier | A · Strong |
|---|---|
| Evidence score | 47.5 (trials 2.5, literature 25.0, tier 15, approved bonus 5.0) |
| Registered trials | 1 total: 0 recruiting, 0 active / not yet recruiting, 1 completed, 0 other |
| Linked publications | 9 (5 clinical trial publications, 1 Cochrane review, 1 meta-analysis, 1 systematic review, 1 randomised controlled trial publication) |
| Agent type | Drug (Small molecule) |
| Development stage (any indication) | Approved |
| Mechanism / class | agonist |
| Data sources | DGIdb |
| Linked via biomarker / target | ADRB3 |
How the evidence score is calculated
- Each registered trial scores by status (recruiting / active / enrolling 3, completed 2.5, not yet recruiting 2, unknown 1, terminated / withdrawn / suspended 0.5) plus a phase bonus (phase 3-4 +2, phase 2 +1, phase 1 +0.5). The trial component is capped at 30.
- Each literature item scores by design (Cochrane review 5, meta-analysis 4, systematic review 3, RCT 3, clinical trial publication 2, curated reference 1.5, other PubMed record 1). The literature component is capped at 30.
- The existing evidence tier adds 15 (A / Strong), 10 (B / Moderate), 5 (C / Preliminary) or 0 (D / Anecdotal).
- Agents approved for any indication (max clinical phase 4) add 5, because an approved agent has an established safety profile that lowers the barrier to repurposing trials.
- The score ranks what has been studied, not what works. It does not read effect sizes or directions of effect.
Registered clinical trials
| NCT ID | Title | Status | Phase | Enrolment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT02524145 | Chronotropic Incompetence in Patients With HFpEF 2015 | completed | Not applicable | 40 |
Published literature
- Cochrane review A systematic review on the cardiovascular pharmacology of Emblica officinalis GaertnHashem-Dabaghian F, Ziaee M, Ghaffari S et al. · Journal of cardiovascular and thoracic research · 2018 · PMID 30386531
- Systematic review A systematic review concerning the relation between the sympathetic nervous system and heart failure with preserved left ventricular ejection fractionVerloop WL, Beeftink MM, Santema BT et al. · PloS one · 2015 · PMID 25658630
- Clinical trial publication Nitroxyl (HNO): A novel approach for the acute treatment of heart failureSabbah HN, Tocchetti CG, Wang M et al. · Circulation. Heart failure · 2013 · PMID 24107588
- Clinical trial publication Enhanced interleukin-1 activity contributes to exercise intolerance in patients with systolic heart failureVan Tassell BW, Arena RA, Toldo S et al. · PloS one · 2012 · PMID 22438931
- Clinical trial publication Impaired β-adrenergic receptor signalling in post-resuscitation myocardial dysfunctionJi XF, Shuo Wang, Yang L et al. · Resuscitation · 2012 · PMID 22115934
- Meta-analysis Reciprocal transcriptional regulation of metabolic and signaling pathways correlates with disease severity in heart failureBarth AS, Kumordzie A, Frangakis C et al. · Circulation. Cardiovascular genetics · 2011 · PMID 21828333
- Clinical trial publication Role of left ventricular scar and Purkinje-like potentials during mapping and ablation of ventricular fibrillation in dilated cardiomyopathySinha AM, Schmidt M, Marschang H et al. · Pacing and clinical electrophysiology : PACE · 2009 · PMID 19272055
- Clinical trial publication Nitric oxide and cardiac muscarinic control in humansChowdhary S, Marsh AM, Coote JH et al. · Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979) · 2004 · PMID 15037554
- Randomized controlled trial [Echocardiographic evaluation of left ventricular function during therapy with cardiovascularly effective drugs]Stefan G · Zeitschrift fur Kardiologie · 1976 · PMID 969820
Mechanism and notes
Recorded mechanism or class: agonist.
OSMF's existing evidence tier for this pair is A (Strong), derived from the strength of the disease association recorded in DGIdb, in this case via the biomarker or target ADRB3. The tier describes how well the drug-disease link is documented, not how well the drug works.
Frequently asked questions
Is Isoproterenol approved for Heart Failure?
Isoproterenol has reached the approved stage (maximum clinical phase 4) for at least one indication, so its use in Heart Failure would be drug repurposing rather than first-in-human development. This does not mean it is approved for Heart Failure. Approval status for the specific indication should always be confirmed with the relevant regulator and prescribing information.
Is Isoproterenol in clinical trials for Heart Failure?
ClinicalTrials.gov lists 1 registered trial linking Isoproterenol to Heart Failure: 1 has completed. None of the registered studies carries a drug-development phase label, which is typical for behavioural, device and supplement protocols. It plans or enrolled 40 participants. Registered activity dates to 2015.
What does the evidence show for Isoproterenol in Heart Failure?
Isoproterenol has both completed registered trials and synthesis-level publications linked to Heart Failure. That is the strongest profile in this database, but the summaries here do not extract effect sizes, so read the linked reviews for direction and magnitude of benefit. OSMF's existing evidence tier for this pair is A (Strong), derived from the strength of the disease association recorded in DGIdb, in this case via the biomarker or target ADRB3. The tier describes how well the drug-disease link is documented, not how well the drug works.
Cite this page
Data: ClinicalTrials.gov, PubMed, Open Targets, ChEMBL, DGIdb and the OSMF therapeutic agent database. Last updated 2026-07-05. Page built 2026-10-07.