Clinical trials data
Cognitive tests in cardiovascular trials: 682 registered studies
Every registered cardiovascular disease study on ClinicalTrials.gov that names a cognitive test in an outcome measure: the tests used most, how often as a primary outcome, which tests go together, how large the studies are and when they measure the outcome.
- Registered cardiovascular disease studies name a cognitive test in an outcome
- 682
- Led by industry
- 28
The tests cardiovascular trials use most
The Trail Making Test leads: 105 of the 682 studies name it, 15%. Next comes the Stroop Color-Word Test (81). As a primary outcome, the Trail Making Test leads with 32 studies.
- 1
Trail Making Test105 studies, 32 as a primary outcome
- 2
Stroop Color-Word Test81 studies, 24 as a primary outcome
- 3
Verbal Learning64 studies, 21 as a primary outcome
- 4
Verbal Fluency61 studies, 21 as a primary outcome
- 5
Digit Span Test59 studies, 20 as a primary outcome
- 6
Symbol Coding46 studies, 10 as a primary outcome
- 7
Category Fluency30 studies, 13 as a primary outcome
- 8
N-Back Task20 studies, 12 as a primary outcome
- 9
Clock Drawing Task20 studies, 4 as a primary outcome
- 10
Picture Naming Test14 studies, 4 as a primary outcome
- 11
Task Switching Test13 studies, 6 as a primary outcome
- 12
Corsi Block-Tapping Test12 studies, 4 as a primary outcome
- 13
Dimensional Change Card Sort12 studies, 4 as a primary outcome
- 14
Go/No-Go Task12 studies, 4 as a primary outcome
- 15
Size Order Memory Test11 studies, 4 as a primary outcome
- 16
Pattern and Letter Comparison10 studies, 4 as a primary outcome
- 17
Card Sorting Test (Berg)10 studies, 2 as a primary outcome
- 18
Psychomotor Vigilance Task10 studies, 2 as a primary outcome
- 19
Vocabulary Test9 studies, 4 as a primary outcome
- 20
Complex Figure Copy and Recall9 studies, 3 as a primary outcome
- 21
Picture Order Memory Test9 studies, 2 as a primary outcome
- 22
Delay Discounting7 studies, 2 as a primary outcome
- 23
Eriksen Flanker Task6 studies, 3 as a primary outcome
- 24
Stop-Signal Task6 studies, 3 as a primary outcome
- 25
Matrix Reasoning5 studies, 3 as a primary outcome
A test as a primary outcomeOnly in secondary or other outcomes
54% of cardiovascular disease studies name only instruments outside the library, such as clinician-administered screening scales. They count in every figure on this page and are not listed. The explorer below holds all 88 tests.
Tests used together
- Digit Span Test and Trail Making Test32 studies name both
- Trail Making Test and Verbal Learning31 studies name both
- Digit Span Test and Verbal Learning29 studies name both
- Stroop Color-Word Test and Trail Making Test29 studies name both
- Trail Making Test and Verbal Fluency29 studies name both
- Symbol Coding and Trail Making Test27 studies name both
- Verbal Fluency and Verbal Learning26 studies name both
- Digit Span Test and Verbal Fluency22 studies name both
- Category Fluency and Trail Making Test18 studies name both
- Digit Span Test and Stroop Color-Word Test18 studies name both
Studies by start year
A test as a primary outcomeOnly in secondary or other outcomes
Show as a table
| Start year | Studies | A test as a primary outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | 2 | 1 |
| 2002 | 1 | 0 |
| 2003 | 1 | 0 |
| 2004 | 1 | 0 |
| 2005 | 2 | 0 |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 2 | 1 |
| 2008 | 6 | 3 |
| 2009 | 4 | 2 |
| 2010 | 10 | 2 |
| 2011 | 14 | 6 |
| 2012 | 8 | 1 |
| 2013 | 18 | 6 |
| 2014 | 25 | 4 |
| 2015 | 30 | 4 |
| 2016 | 39 | 16 |
| 2017 | 34 | 7 |
| 2018 | 37 | 5 |
| 2019 | 39 | 15 |
| 2020 | 41 | 12 |
| 2021 | 56 | 20 |
| 2022 | 53 | 16 |
| 2023 | 61 | 20 |
| 2024 | 58 | 13 |
| 2025 | 69 | 17 |
| 2026 | 66 | 12 |
Phases and sponsors
By phase
- Early phase 110 studies, 3 as a primary outcome
- Phase 17 studies, 2 as a primary outcome
- Phase 1/27 studies, 4 as a primary outcome
- Phase 228 studies, 4 as a primary outcome
- Phase 2/37 studies, 1 as a primary outcome
- Phase 328 studies, 5 as a primary outcome
- Phase 441 studies, 2 as a primary outcome
- Not applicable382 studies, 106 as a primary outcome
- Observational172 studies, 58 as a primary outcome
Sponsors and study types
Lead sponsor: industry 28, NIH 0, universities, hospitals and others 654. Interventional 510, observational 172.
Status, results, interventions and countries
Status
- Recruiting157 studies, 33 as a primary outcome
- Not yet recruiting47 studies, 11 as a primary outcome
- Active, not recruiting43 studies, 8 as a primary outcome
- Completed262 studies, 77 as a primary outcome
- Stopped early41 studies, 13 as a primary outcome
- Status unknown132 studies, 43 as a primary outcome
What they test
- Behavioral128 studies, 33 as a primary outcome
- Drug153 studies, 30 as a primary outcome
- Device84 studies, 14 as a primary outcome
- Dietary supplement30 studies, 7 as a primary outcome
- Procedure89 studies, 25 as a primary outcome
- Diagnostic test38 studies, 11 as a primary outcome
- Biological7 studies, 3 as a primary outcome
- Radiation4 studies, 2 as a primary outcome
- Combination product1 studies, 0 as a primary outcome
- Genetic2 studies, 0 as a primary outcome
- Other190 studies, 58 as a primary outcome
- None given74 studies, 26 as a primary outcome
Intervention types as registered. A study can list several; observational studies often list none.
Where their sites are
- United States164 studies, 48 as a primary outcome
- China96 studies, 23 as a primary outcome
- Canada57 studies, 17 as a primary outcome
- United Kingdom50 studies, 11 as a primary outcome
- Italy44 studies, 11 as a primary outcome
- France40 studies, 7 as a primary outcome
- Germany40 studies, 6 as a primary outcome
- Spain37 studies, 7 as a primary outcome
- Netherlands31 studies, 6 as a primary outcome
- Belgium24 studies, 6 as a primary outcome
- Denmark24 studies, 3 as a primary outcome
- Switzerland24 studies, 5 as a primary outcome
76 countries in all. A study with sites in several counts in each; 33 list no site.
Reported results
Completed studies with results posted on ClinicalTrials.gov, a results paper the registry links to the study, or both.
Completed cardiovascular disease studies: 124 of 262, 47%
Every completed study with a cognitive outcome: 3,626 of 7,953, 46%
| Results | Completed cardiovascular disease studies | Every completed study |
|---|---|---|
| Results on ClinicalTrials.gov and a paper | 31, 12% | 776, 10% |
| Results on ClinicalTrials.gov only | 23, 9% | 1,139, 14% |
| A results paper only | 70, 27% | 1,711, 22% |
| Neither | 138, 53% | 4,327, 54% |
How many participants they enroll
- Phase 269 median, 38 to 149
- Phase 3238 median, 58 to 1,346
- Phase 4200 median, 60 to 440
- Not applicable100 median, 44 to 240
- Observational200 median, 85 to 607
Show as a table
| Phase | Studies with a size | Median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 2 | 28 | 69 | 38 to 149 |
| Phase 3 | 28 | 238 | 58 to 1,346 |
| Phase 4 | 41 | 200 | 60 to 440 |
| Not applicable | 377 | 100 | 44 to 240 |
| Observational | 167 | 200 | 85 to 607 |
When the cognitive outcome is measured
Latest time point of each outcome
- Within a day82 outcomes, 33 as a primary outcome
- Up to 4 weeks63 outcomes, 29 as a primary outcome
- 1 to 3 months130 outcomes, 30 as a primary outcome
- 3 to 6 months199 outcomes, 51 as a primary outcome
- 6 to 12 months147 outcomes, 44 as a primary outcome
- 1 to 2 years54 outcomes, 24 as a primary outcome
- Over 2 years39 outcomes, 10 as a primary outcome
- No duration given49 outcomes, 28 as a primary outcome
A test as a primary outcomeOnly in secondary or other outcomes
714 of the 763 outcome measures give a duration. A single visit counts as within a day.
Median time to the primary outcome, by test
| Test | Primary outcomes | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Trail Making Test | 29 | 6 months |
| Stroop Color-Word Test | 20 | 16 weeks |
| Verbal Fluency | 20 | 12 months |
| Verbal Learning | 20 | 6 months |
| Digit Span Test | 18 | 15 weeks |
| Category Fluency | 13 | 6 months |
Explore the cardiovascular disease studies
313 studies match. 109 name a library test in a primary outcome. Median size 80 participants. Median time to the primary outcome: 6 months.
Loading 313 studies; the filters turn on when they arrive.
2026 is partly planned starts. Not shown: 1 that started before 2000 and 2 planned to start after 2026.
Show as a table
| Start year | Studies | As a primary outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | 1 | 0 |
| 2004 | 1 | 0 |
| 2005 | 1 | 0 |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 2 | 1 |
| 2008 | 3 | 2 |
| 2009 | 1 | 1 |
| 2010 | 4 | 1 |
| 2011 | 11 | 5 |
| 2012 | 3 | 1 |
| 2013 | 7 | 4 |
| 2014 | 16 | 4 |
| 2015 | 18 | 2 |
| 2016 | 19 | 10 |
| 2017 | 18 | 5 |
| 2018 | 14 | 5 |
| 2019 | 13 | 5 |
| 2020 | 19 | 10 |
| 2021 | 30 | 10 |
| 2022 | 24 | 9 |
| 2023 | 29 | 10 |
| 2024 | 26 | 6 |
| 2025 | 29 | 10 |
| 2026 | 21 | 6 |
Library tests named most
Largest condition groups
Phases
Participants
Lead sponsor: industry 4, other 309. Interventional 252, observational 61.
As a primary outcomeSecondary or other outcome
The studies, newest registration first
Each number opens the study's record on ClinicalTrials.gov.
| Study | Start | Phase | Conditions | Participants | Lead sponsor | Status | Library tests named, with the latest time point |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT07904325 | Start2026 | PhaseObservational | ConditionsCardiovascular disease, Lung disease | Participants100 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusNot yet recruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07882875 | Start2026 | PhaseObservational | ConditionsStroke, Cardiovascular disease | Participants560 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusNot yet recruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07862452 | Start2027 | PhaseNot applicable | ConditionsObesity and diabetes, Cardiovascular disease | Participants400 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusNot yet recruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07856043 | Start2026 | PhasePhase 1 | ConditionsDementia and Alzheimer's, Mild cognitive impairment, Cardiovascular disease | Participants18 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusNot yet recruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07812935 | Start2025 | PhaseNot applicable | ConditionsCardiovascular disease | Participants33 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusCompleted | Library tests named
|
| NCT07740967 | Start2026 | PhaseNot applicable | ConditionsSleep and sleep disorders, Pain and fatigue, Cardiovascular disease | Participants34 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusRecruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07729930 | Start2026 | PhaseNot applicable | ConditionsSleep and sleep disorders, Pain and fatigue, Cardiovascular disease | Participants38 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusRecruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07714096 | Start2027 | PhaseNot applicable | ConditionsObesity and diabetes, Cardiovascular disease | Participants56 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusNot yet recruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07695883 | Start2026 | PhasePhase 3 | ConditionsCardiovascular disease | Participants3,000 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusRecruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07695090 | Start2026 | PhasePhase 2 | ConditionsCardiovascular disease | Participants60 | Lead sponsorIndustry | StatusRecruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07692958 | Start2026 | PhaseNot applicable | ConditionsCardiovascular disease | Participants160 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusRecruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07689500 | Start2025 | PhaseNot applicable | ConditionsDelirium, surgery and intensive care, Cardiovascular disease | Participants153 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusCompleted | Library tests named
|
| NCT07666685 | Start2026 | PhaseNot applicable | ConditionsAging, frailty and exercise, Cardiovascular disease | Participants120 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusRecruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07664748 | Start2026 | PhaseNot applicable | ConditionsCardiovascular disease | Participants60 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusRecruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07654231 | Start2026 | PhasePhase 2 | ConditionsCardiovascular disease | Participants60 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusNot yet recruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07648498 | Start2026 | PhaseNot applicable | ConditionsCardiovascular disease | Participants30 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusRecruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07643571 | Start2026 | PhaseNot applicable | ConditionsAnxiety, PTSD and OCD, Cardiovascular disease | Participants200 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusCompleted | Library tests named
|
| NCT07633392 | Start2026 | PhaseNot applicable | ConditionsAging, frailty and exercise, Substance use and addiction, Sleep and sleep disorders, Cardiovascular disease | Participants240 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusRecruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07626567 | Start2026 | PhaseObservational | ConditionsDelirium, surgery and intensive care, Cardiovascular disease | Participants500 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusNot yet recruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07607795 | Start2026 | PhaseNot applicable | ConditionsCardiovascular disease | Participants30 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusRecruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07581587 | Start2026 | PhaseNot applicable | ConditionsCardiovascular disease | Participants54 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusRecruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07520643 | Start2026 | PhaseObservational | ConditionsCardiovascular disease | Participants1,000 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusNot yet recruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07492537 | Start2025 | PhaseNot applicable | ConditionsDepression and bipolar disorder, Cardiovascular disease | Participants100 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusRecruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07396025 | Start2025 | PhaseNot applicable | ConditionsStroke, Cardiovascular disease | Participants60 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusRecruiting | Library tests named
|
| NCT07391228 | Start2025 | PhaseObservational | ConditionsCardiovascular disease | Participants30 | Lead sponsorOther | StatusActive, not recruiting | Library tests named
|
Questions, answered from the data
Which cognitive test do cardiovascular trials use most?
The Trail Making Test: 105 of the 682 registered studies name it in an outcome measure, 15%. Next come the Stroop Color-Word Test (81) and Verbal Learning (64).
Which cognitive test do cardiovascular trials use most as a primary outcome?
The Trail Making Test, named in a primary outcome by 32 studies. 185 of the 682 studies, 27%, name a cognitive test in a primary outcome.
How many participants does a phase 2 cardiovascular trial enroll?
Half of the phase 2 cardiovascular disease studies enroll 69 participants or fewer, and the middle half enroll 38 to 149. 28 of them give a size.
How long after the start do cardiovascular trials measure a cognitive outcome?
Half of the primary outcomes that name a library test are measured within 6 months of the start, and the middle half from 4 weeks to 12 months. 221 primary outcomes give a duration.
Which cognitive tests do cardiovascular trials use together?
The Digit Span Test with the Trail Making Test most often: 32 studies name both. Next, the Trail Making Test with Verbal Learning (31).
How many completed cardiovascular trials have reported results?
124 of the 262 completed cardiovascular disease studies, 47%, have reported results: 54 posted them on ClinicalTrials.gov, 101 have a results paper linked to the registry record, and 31 did both. The other 138 show neither. Of all completed studies with a cognitive outcome, 46% have reported results.
How the studies are counted
For each test family, the census runs ClinicalTrials.gov's own outcome search for the family's names and reads every study first posted by the day the family was counted. These studies were read on 10 November 2026. A study counts once on a page, however many tests it names. Counts for a test cover every version of the task under any of its names, so a page can count studies that used a commercial version.
The census adds two things to each record and changes nothing in it: which outcome list names the test (primary, then secondary, then other), and the condition groups, matched on the study's condition names and MeSH terms. A study can fall in several groups; one whose only condition is cognitive impairment or decline falls in “Cognitive impairment and decline”. Studies that name only instruments outside the library count in every total and share but are not listed.
A second read on 10 November 2026 added each study's overall status, whether results are posted, its intervention types, the countries of its sites and the time frame of the outcome that names each test. A time frame counts by the latest time point it names: “Baseline, 12 and 24 weeks” is 24 weeks, a single visit is within a day, and one that names no duration, such as “end of treatment”, is left out of the timings.
A third read on 10 November 2026 added the papers the registry links to each study: those its sponsor lists as reporting results, and those PubMed links to it through the study's NCT number. A study has a results paper when one of them came out in or after the month of its primary completion and PubMed does not class it as a protocol, review or comment. A paper that never gives the NCT number is not linked, so some studies counted as reporting neither did publish.
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, which does not endorse these pages. Every study line is in the data release 2.1.0, and the explorer's own file is clinical-trials-studies.json.
Plan the cognitive outcomes of a cardiovascular disease trial
Choose tests with a record in registered trials, and run them in a browser at every site, on the same version each visit.