NCT07625488Enrolling by invitation
Measuring Athlete's Risk of Cardiovascular Events 3 (MARC-3)
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 13 Aug 2026
Brief summary (registry, in English)
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.
- Status (registry)
- Enrolling by invitation
- Study type
- Observational
- Enrollment
- 250 (estimated)
- First submitted
- 20 May 2026
- Start date
- 31 May 2026
- Primary completion date
- 31 Dec 2027
- Lead sponsor
- Radboud University Medical Center
- Diseases
- Coronary artery disease
- NCT number
- NCT07625488
What you commit to
- Study type: Observational
- Planned participants: 250
- From 31 May 2026 to the primary completion date, 31 Dec 2027
- 2 sites in 1 country
- Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them
Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.
Who cannot take part
Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.
Prior treatment
- Concurrent participation in an interventional study targeting cardiovascular health.
- Additional exclusion criteria for CCTA:
Other illness
- History of severe allergic reaction to iodinated contrast agents.
- Recent acute myocardial infarction (3-5 days)
- Unstable angina
- Uncontrolled arrhythmias with symptoms or hemodynamic compromise
- Uncontrolled heart failure
- Lower extremity thrombosis
- Respiratory failure
- Acute non-cardiopulmonary disorders that impair or are aggravated by exercise (e.g., infection, renal failure, thyrotoxicosis)
- Mental impairment preventing cooperation
Lab values
- Renal dysfunction (eGFR \< 30 mL/min/1.73 m²).
- Additional exclusion criteria for maximal exercise testing:
Other
- Inability to provide written informed consent.
- Not willing to receive information about potential incidental CT findings.
- Not willing to undergo CCTA with intravenous contrast.
- Absolute contraindications to maximal exercise testing as defined by institutional SOPs, including but not limited to:
- Syncope
- Active endocarditis
- Acute myocarditis or pericarditis
- Acute pulmonary embolus or pulmonary infarction
- Suspected aortic dissection
- Uncontrolled asthma
- Pulmonary edema
- Resting room-air oxygen saturation ≤ 85 percent
Who the study is looking for
- \- Previous participation in the original MARC study (enrolled between 2012-2014).
Age in the registry: 45 years to - · Sex: Male
Sites (2)
Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.
| Site | City | Country | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radboud University Medical Center Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Nijmegen | Netherlands | Unknown status |
| University Medical Center Utrecht Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Utrecht | Netherlands | Unknown status |
This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.