Denne side blev automatisk oversat, og nøjagtigheden af ​​oversættelsen er ikke garanteret. Der henvises til engelsk version for en kildetekst.

Measuring Athlete's Risk of Cardiovascular Events 3 (MARC-3) (MARC-3)

28. maj 2026 opdateret af: Radboud University Medical Center

Regular endurance exercise is widely known to improve cardiovascular health and reduce the risk of heart disease. Yet several imaging studies have shown that male endurance athletes have a higher prevalence of coronary artery calcification (CAC) and calcified plaque than less active individuals. It remains unclear whether this represents harmful progression of coronary artery disease or a more benign, stable form of atherosclerosis. Understanding this distinction is essential, because coronary atherosclerosis is the leading cause of exercise-related cardiac events in athletes >35 years.

The MARC-3 study is the second long-term follow-up of the original Measuring Athlete's Risk of Cardiovascular Events (MARC) cohort and aims to clarify how lifelong exercise training influences coronary artery health.

The study will:

  1. examine how long-term exercise patterns relate to the progression of coronary atherosclerosis;
  2. assess plaque characteristics using artificial-intelligence based quantitative coronary CT angiography (AI-QCT);
  3. identify biological markers that may link exercise to plaque development; and
  4. evaluate long-term clinical outcomes, including all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).

Our working hypothesis is that endurance exercise predominantly leads to more stable, calcified plaque, and that mechanisms such as exercise-induced hypertension, inflammation, lipid regulation, and genetic background may provide an explanation for the unexpected results observed in previous studies.

Studieoversigt

Status

Tilmelding efter invitation

Detaljeret beskrivelse

For a detailed description, please see the attached study protocol under 'Documents'.

Undersøgelsestype

Observationel

Tilmelding (Anslået)

250

Kontakter og lokationer

Dette afsnit indeholder kontaktoplysninger for dem, der udfører undersøgelsen, og oplysninger om, hvor denne undersøgelse udføres.

Studiesteder

      • Nijmegen, Holland, 6525 GA
        • Radboud University Medical Center
      • Utrecht, Holland, 3584 CX
        • University Medical Center Utrecht

Deltagelseskriterier

Forskere leder efter personer, der passer til en bestemt beskrivelse, kaldet berettigelseskriterier. Nogle eksempler på disse kriterier er en persons generelle helbredstilstand eller tidligere behandlinger.

Berettigelseskriterier

Aldre berettiget til at studere

  • Voksen
  • Ældre voksen

Tager imod sunde frivillige

N/A

Prøveudtagningsmetode

Ikke-sandsynlighedsprøve

Studiebefolkning

Participants are invited from the established MARC cohort, which originally included 318 Caucasian, middle-aged (≥45 years) male amateur athletes recruited between 2012 and 2014. At baseline, athletes were eligible if they engaged in regular endurance exercise and were free of known cardiovascular disease. All participants underwent a comprehensive sports medical evaluation without abnormalities prior to enrollment. The initial exclusion criteria included inability to provide informed consent and medical conditions precluding participation in exercise testing or CT imaging.

Beskrivelse

Inclusion Criteria:

- Previous participation in the original MARC study (enrolled between 2012-2014).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Inability to provide written informed consent.
  • Not willing to receive information about potential incidental CT findings.
  • Concurrent participation in an interventional study targeting cardiovascular health.

Additional exclusion criteria for CCTA:

  • Not willing to undergo CCTA with intravenous contrast.
  • History of severe allergic reaction to iodinated contrast agents.
  • Renal dysfunction (eGFR < 30 mL/min/1.73 m²).

Additional exclusion criteria for maximal exercise testing:

  • Absolute contraindications to maximal exercise testing as defined by institutional SOPs, including but not limited to:
  • Recent acute myocardial infarction (3-5 days)
  • Unstable angina
  • Uncontrolled arrhythmias with symptoms or hemodynamic compromise
  • Syncope
  • Active endocarditis
  • Acute myocarditis or pericarditis
  • Uncontrolled heart failure
  • Acute pulmonary embolus or pulmonary infarction
  • Lower extremity thrombosis
  • Suspected aortic dissection
  • Uncontrolled asthma
  • Pulmonary edema
  • Resting room-air oxygen saturation ≤ 85 percent
  • Respiratory failure
  • Acute non-cardiopulmonary disorders that impair or are aggravated by exercise (e.g., infection, renal failure, thyrotoxicosis)
  • Mental impairment preventing cooperation

Studieplan

Dette afsnit indeholder detaljer om studieplanen, herunder hvordan undersøgelsen er designet, og hvad undersøgelsen måler.

Hvordan er undersøgelsen tilrettelagt?

Design detaljer

Kohorter og interventioner

Gruppe / kohorte
MARC-3 cohort
Participants in this cohort are the surviving and traceable members of the original MARC study, which enrolled 318 middle-aged male amateur endurance athletes between 2012 and 2014. In the first follow-up (MARC-2), 291 participants were successfully re-examined. All participants have a lifelong history of regular endurance exercise. In MARC-3, they undergo repeat evaluation of coronary atherosclerosis, cardiopulmonary fitness, exercise exposure, biomarkers, and genetic factors approximately 12.5 years after baseline.

Hvad måler undersøgelsen?

Primære resultatmål

Resultatmål
Foranstaltningsbeskrivelse
Tidsramme
Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) Score
Tidsramme: Baseline

Total CACS (AU)

AU: Agatston units

Baseline
Coronary stenosis and plaque characteristics
Tidsramme: Baseline
Determine the characteristics (burden, composition, risk features)
Baseline

Sekundære resultatmål

Resultatmål
Foranstaltningsbeskrivelse
Tidsramme
Quantitative Plaque Phenotype and Burden
Tidsramme: Baseline
Total plaque volume (mm³); calcified, mixed, non-calcified and low-attenuation plaque (mm³); remodeling index.
Baseline
Pericoronary Adipose Tissue Attenuation (PCATa)
Tidsramme: Baseline
CCTA-derived PCAT attenuation around proximal coronary arteries (Hounsfield Units, HU).
Baseline
Peripheral Atherosclerosis
Tidsramme: Baseline
Carotid and femoral intima-media thickness (IMT, mm) and degree of stenosis (%).
Baseline
Biomarker Profile
Tidsramme: Baseline
Lipid profile (mmol/L); HbA1c (%); inflammatory markers (e.g., hsCRP, mg/L); hair cortisol (pg/mg); immunophenotyping (cell subsets, % and absolute counts); polygenic risk score.
Baseline
Long-Term Clinical Outcomes
Tidsramme: Through current study baseline, approximately 13 years after initial cohort enrollment
All-cause mortality and major adverse cardiac events (MACE)
Through current study baseline, approximately 13 years after initial cohort enrollment

Samarbejdspartnere og efterforskere

Det er her, du vil finde personer og organisationer, der er involveret i denne undersøgelse.

Publikationer og nyttige links

Den person, der er ansvarlig for at indtaste oplysninger om undersøgelsen, leverer frivilligt disse publikationer. Disse kan handle om alt relateret til undersøgelsen.

Generelle publikationer

Datoer for undersøgelser

Disse datoer sporer fremskridtene for indsendelser af undersøgelsesrekord og resumeresultater til ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieregistreringer og rapporterede resultater gennemgås af National Library of Medicine (NLM) for at sikre, at de opfylder specifikke kvalitetskontrolstandarder, før de offentliggøres på den offentlige hjemmeside.

Studer store datoer

Studiestart (Anslået)

31. maj 2026

Primær færdiggørelse (Anslået)

31. december 2027

Studieafslutning (Anslået)

31. december 2027

Datoer for studieregistrering

Først indsendt

20. maj 2026

Først indsendt, der opfyldte QC-kriterier

28. maj 2026

Først opslået (Faktiske)

4. juni 2026

Opdateringer af undersøgelsesjournaler

Sidste opdatering sendt (Faktiske)

4. juni 2026

Sidste opdatering indsendt, der opfyldte kvalitetskontrolkriterier

28. maj 2026

Sidst verificeret

1. maj 2026

Mere information

Begreber relateret til denne undersøgelse

Plan for individuelle deltagerdata (IPD)

Planlægger du at dele individuelle deltagerdata (IPD)?

JA

IPD-planbeskrivelse

Pseudonymised individual participant data underlying published results may be made available to qualified researchers upon reasonable request. Data access will be subject to approval by the study group leaders, compatibility with participant consent, institutional privacy/legal review, and execution of a data sharing agreement. Only data necessary for the approved research question will be shared.

Lægemiddel- og udstyrsoplysninger, undersøgelsesdokumenter

Studerer et amerikansk FDA-reguleret lægemiddelprodukt

Ingen

Studerer et amerikansk FDA-reguleret enhedsprodukt

Ingen

Disse oplysninger blev hentet direkte fra webstedet clinicaltrials.gov uden ændringer. Hvis du har nogen anmodninger om at ændre, fjerne eller opdatere dine undersøgelsesoplysninger, bedes du kontakte register@clinicaltrials.gov. Så snart en ændring er implementeret på clinicaltrials.gov, vil denne også blive opdateret automatisk på vores hjemmeside .

Kliniske forsøg med Koronararteriesygdom

Abonner