FUNDACION CNIC CARLOS III
Melchor Fernández Almagro, 3
Postal Code: 28029, Madrid, Spain
Phone: (+34) 91 4531200
Fax: (+34) 91 4531245
Recruitment and study protocol
Banco Santander employees who fit the PESA age profile will be informed about the study during their annual medical check up. Those interested in volunteering for the study will be given detailed information and asked to give their consent.
In addition to their annual check up conducted by the Medical Services department at Banco Santander, participants entering the PESA study will undergo a comprehensive series of diagnostic tests and evaluations. In addition to demographic, anthropometric and familial information, these tests will evaluate the presence of the main cardiovascular risk factors through the analysis of diet, level of physical activity, psychosocial factors and sleep patterns. In this initial phase all volunteers will also undergo a physical examination and have an electrocardiogram taken.
After this first visit, the blood samples obtained will be analyzed for the presence of so-called emerging risk factors: that is, risk factors other than the main established ones (hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, etc.) and that require sophisitcated tests using the techniques of genomics and proteomics.
The visit will be completed with a battery of cardiovascular imaging tests. This will include a measure of the ankle brachial pressure index, the simplest and most reliable way of evaluating the existence of an atherothrombotic disturbance in the lower limbs.
The imaging tests will include ultrasonography of the carotid arteries and the chest, and a CAT scan. In this way, the annual medical check results will be enriched with data, obtained without incurring any risk, on the status of the heart and arteries of every participant.
Participants testing positive for risk factors will be further examined by advanced imaging techniques: magnetic resonante imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET).
All of these imaging tests are widely used as routine diagnostic tools and are accepted by the international scientific community. These non-invasive procedures provide physicians with important information about the anatomy (ultrasonography, MRI and CAT) and function (PET) of the vascular system.
These tests will be repeated on the same participants at the end of the third and sixth years after their inclusion in the study. All participants will receive a detailed report after each visit summarizing their cardiovascular state of health, determined through the most advanced imaging technologies. Over the six years of the study, these reports will provide valuable information about each participant’s risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event.