Why the study?
Does lifelong endurance exercise affect the prevalence of subclinical coronary artery disease in masters athletes with a low atherosclerotic risk profile?
Does lifelong endurance exercise affect the prevalence of subclinical coronary artery disease in masters athletes with a low atherosclerotic risk profile?
Male masters endurance athletes have a higher prevalence of coronary plaques and CAC >300 compared to sedentary peers, but the plaques are predominantly calcific and stable, suggesting a different pathophysiological mechanism.
Higher CAC/plaque prevalence in athletes should not alter exercise advice; leaves open whether calcific morphology alters event risk versus sedentary peers.
Most lifelong masters endurance athletes with a low atherosclerotic risk profile have normal CAC scores. Male athletes are more likely to have a CAC score >300 Agatston units or coronary plaques compared with sedentary males with a similar risk profile. The significance of these observations is uncertain, but the predominantly calcific morphology of the plaques in athletes indicates potentially different pathophysiological mechanisms for plaque formation in athletic versus sedentary men. Coronary plaques are more abundant in athletes, whereas their stable nature could mitigate the risk of plaque rupture and acute myocardial infarction.
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Merghani et al. (2017) studied this question.
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