Rationale and design of the Measuring Athlete's Risk of Cardiovascular events (MARC) study : The role of coronary CT in the cardiovascular evaluation of middle-aged sportsmen.

ABSTRACT:

Background

More than 90 % of exercise-related cardiac arrests occur in men, predominantly those aged 45 years and older with coronary artery disease (CAD) as the main cause. The current sports medical evaluation (SME) of middle-aged recreational athletes consists of a medical history, physical examination, and resting and exercise electrocardiography. Coronary CT (CCT) provides a minimally invasive low radiation dose opportunity to image the coronary arteries. We present the study protocol of the Measuring Athlete's Risk of Cardiovascular events (MARC) study. MARC aims to assess the additional value of CCT to a routine SME in asymptomatic sportsmen ≥45 years without known CAD.

Design

MARC is a prospective study of 300 asymptomatic sportsmen ≥45 years who will undergo CCT if

SUBMITTER: Braber TL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4315792 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature