Masters Athlete Screening Study (MASS): incidence of cardiovascular disease and major adverse cardiac events and efficacy of screening over five years

Abstract Background The efficacy of cardiovascular screening in Masters athletes (MAs) (≥ 35y), and whether screening decreases their risk of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) is unknown. Purpose To evaluate the effectiveness of yearly cardiovascular screening, and the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and MACE over five years. Methods MAs (≥35 y) without previous history of CVD underwent yearly cardiovascular screening. Participants with an abnormal screen underwent further evaluations. Results In the initial year, 798 MAs (62.7% male, 55 ± 10y) were screened; 11.4% (n = 91) were diagnosed with CVD. Coronary artery disease (CAD) was the most common diagnosis (n = 64; 53%). During follow-up, there were an additional 89 CVD diagnoses with an incidence rate of 3.58/100, 4.14/100, 3.74/100, 1.19/100, for years one to four, respectively. The most common diagnoses during follow-up were arrhythmias (n = 33; 37%). Increasing age (OR = 1.047, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.003-1.094; p = 0.0379), Framingham Risk Score (FRS) (OR = 1.092, 95%CI: 1.031-1.158; p = 0.003), and LDL cholesterol (OR = 1.709, 95%CI: 1.223–2.401; p = 0.002) were predictive of CAD, whereas moderate intensity activity (min/wk) (OR = 0.997, 95%CI: 0.996-0.999; p = 0.002) was protective. Ten MACE (2.8/1,000 athlete-years) occurred. All of these MAs were male, and 90% had ≥10% FRS. All underwent further evaluations with only two identified to have obstructive CAD. Conclusion MACE occurred despite yearly screening. All MAs who had an event had an abnormal screen; however, cardiac functional tests failed to detect underlying CAD in most cases. It may be appropriate to offer computed computed coronary tomography angiography in MAs with ≥10% FRS to overcome the limitations of functional testing, and to assist with lifestyle and treatment modifications.