Tracking Muscle Loss in Severely Ill Heart Failure Patients

This study is tracking changes in muscle thickness using ultrasound scans in patients with advanced heart failure who are in cardiogenic shock (a life-threatening condition where the heart cannot pump enough blood). Researchers want to understand how much muscle is lost during this critical illness and whether these changes can predict how well patients recover. The study uses a special ultrasound device that safely measures muscle thickness in the thigh and arm over the course of your hospital stay.

Patients with severe heart failure often lose muscle mass very quickly during hospitalization, but doctors don't have a simple, safe way to measure this loss. Understanding how muscle wasting relates to recovery could help doctors better predict outcomes and plan better treatments.