Evaluating CMR

The PROCAM study

The PROCAM study was initiated in 1979 and involved over 20,000 participants aged 16 to 65 years from 52 companies and government offices in the Münster and northern Ruhr areas of Germany (7). The first recruitment phase, which started in 1979, ended in late 1985 with 19,689 participants. The second and third rounds of recruitment from 1986-1991 and 1992-1995 added an additional 3,918 and 7,301 participants. Overall, the PROCAM study had roughly 30,000 participants (8). Recruited volunteers had no history of myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke and no electrocardiogram (ECG) evidence of ischemic heart disease. Examination at baseline included a case history questionnaire, measurement of blood pressure and anthropometric data, a resting ECG, and determination of several laboratory parameters. Follow-up was performed by questionnaire every two years, and cardiovascular events and deaths were confirmed by examining hospital records and/or eyewitness reports. The initial examination was repeated after 6 to 7 years.

As a whole, the PROCAM study was designed to study people for cardiovascular risk factors, mortality, and cardiovascular events (including MI and stroke). Its goal was to determine the prevalence of CVD risk factors in a German population and evaluate the relationship between risk factors and subsequent incidence of MI or death from CVD or other causes (8). A key objective of the PROCAM study was therefore to improve the methods used to estimate CVD risk.