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Trial registered on ANZCTR
Registration number
ACTRN12618000711213
Ethics application status
Approved
Date submitted
24/04/2018
Date registered
1/05/2018
Date last updated
1/05/2018
Type of registration
Retrospectively registered
Titles & IDs
Public title
An investigation in atrial remodelling and the risk of arrhythmias in endurance athletes
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Scientific title
Atrial remodelling and risk of arrhythmias in endurance athletes
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Secondary ID [1]
292776
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None
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Universal Trial Number (UTN)
U1111_1212_8188
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Trial acronym
ProAFHeart
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Linked study record
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Health condition
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:
Atrial Fibrillation
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Athlete's heart
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Atrial remodeling
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Condition category
Condition code
Cardiovascular
306638
306638
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0
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Normal development and function of the cardiovascular system
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Intervention/exposure
Study type
Observational
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Patient registry
False
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Target follow-up duration
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Target follow-up type
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Description of intervention(s) / exposure
Testing of the participants will happen at baseline and a repeat test after 2 years.
Testing includes:
Echocardiography
Electrocardiogram
VO2 max test
Blood samples
Holter monitor recording for 3 days
Cardiac MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
Dexa scan to measure body composition and bone mineral density
Anthropological measures (height and weight)
1 week training diary (electronic or paper copy)
Health questionnaire
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Intervention code [1]
300995
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Diagnosis / Prognosis
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Comparator / control treatment
Endurance athletes will be aged and gender matched to healthy non-athletic controls.
A healthy non-athletic control is not involved in any sports competition, is not enrolled in a fitness program to improve their fitness, does less than 3hours of leisure exercise per week.
Age groups will also be compared with each other.
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Control group
Active
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Outcomes
Primary outcome [1]
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Presence of atrial fibrillation assessed by electrocardiogram and holter monitoring
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Assessment method [1]
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Timepoint [1]
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Comparison between athletic and non-athletic cohorts at baseline testing
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Primary outcome [2]
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Assessment of atrial structure on Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging and echocardiogram
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Assessment method [2]
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Timepoint [2]
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Comparison of the age groups at baseline and after 2 years.
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Secondary outcome [1]
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Fitness status assessed by a VO2 max test with a continuous ramp protocol on a bike ergometer and metabolic chart
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Assessment method [1]
346112
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Timepoint [1]
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At baseline testing and after 2 years
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Secondary outcome [2]
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Cardiac markers, BNP, Troponin and fasting lipid profile assessed by a blood test
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Assessment method [2]
346113
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Timepoint [2]
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Baseline testing and 2 years after
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Secondary outcome [3]
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Assessment of exercise training by recording daily exercise activities on a 7-day training diary or by electronic recording on TrainingPeaks
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Assessment method [3]
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Timepoint [3]
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At baseline recorded for 1 week
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Secondary outcome [4]
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assessment of cardiovascular risk factors and medical history using a questionnaire
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Assessment method [4]
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Timepoint [4]
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At baseline
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Secondary outcome [5]
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Assessment of body composition and bone mineral density using a DEXA scanner
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Assessment method [5]
346116
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Timepoint [5]
346116
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Baseline and after 2 years
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Eligibility
Key inclusion criteria
Young athlete: 16-23 years, competing in elite endurance sport. Within 24 months of starting elite competition.
Retiring athletes: 28-45 years, competing in elite endurance sport. Within 12 months of retiring of elite competition
Retired athlete: 45-80 years. rowers who competed at state, national or international level for a duration of 10 years when younger.
Age and gender matched non-athletic group: Not competing in sport, less than 3 hours of leisure activity per month, not enrolled in a fitness program to improve fitness.
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Minimum age
16
Years
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Maximum age
80
Years
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Sex
Both males and females
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Can healthy volunteers participate?
Yes
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Key exclusion criteria
You will be ineligible for this study if:
- You have a metal implant or history of an operation that would exclude you from being studied in the CMR scanner.
- You are pregnant or breast feeding that would exclude you from being studied in the DEXA scanner.
- A comprehensive list of contraindications will be discussed prior to scanning which are important to ensure that there are no metallic foreign objects in the eye and other uncommon issues which are important to exclude.
if you are diagnosed with a cardiopulmonary disorder before the age of 30.
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Study design
Purpose
Natural history
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Duration
Longitudinal
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Selection
Defined population
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Timing
Prospective
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Statistical methods / analysis
Hypothesis 1 - that AF is more common in persons with a large cumulative exposure to endurance exercise training – requires an older cohort to ensure adequate power. Using Australian community AF prevalence estimates of 5.35% - 9%2,39, a conservative 2-fold estimate of relative risk (ie. 3.6 vs 7.2% prevalence), ß=0.8 and a=0.05 and 2:1 sampling, a sample size of 328 subjects is required. Thus, our planned cohort of 360 subjects (240 athletes and 120 referents in this age group) is adequately powered to address a clinically relevant excess of AF.
The first stage of the study employs a within subject repeated measures design whereby it is hypothesized that atrial size will increase with two years of intense endurance training, but not in untrained controls. The sample size of 135 subjects is derived from the fact that 120 subjects provides adequate power to detect a 10% increase in atrial size from 34 ±9 ml/m2 (from our previous data), ß =0.8, a = 0.05. The same sample size is used for the retiring athlete cohort as this should be adequately powered to detect reverse remodelling of similar magnitude. In the retired athlete cohort, repeat assessment of atrial remodelling will be replaced by serial assessments for incident AF and electrophysiological studies where clinically indicated.
Summary: 90 young athletes (45 controls), 90 retiring athletes (45 controls), 240 older athletes and 120 controls. Total: 630 subjects
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Recruitment
Recruitment status
Recruiting
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Date of first participant enrolment
Anticipated
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Actual
2/02/2017
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Date of last participant enrolment
Anticipated
31/08/2019
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Actual
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Date of last data collection
Anticipated
31/08/2021
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Actual
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Sample size
Target
630
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Accrual to date
123
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Final
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Recruitment in Australia
Recruitment state(s)
SA,VIC
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Recruitment hospital [1]
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Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute - Melbourne
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Recruitment hospital [2]
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South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) - Adelaide
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Recruitment postcode(s) [1]
22516
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3004 - Melbourne
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Recruitment postcode(s) [2]
22517
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5000 - Adelaide
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Recruitment outside Australia
Country [1]
10344
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Belgium
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State/province [1]
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Antwerp and Brabant
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Funding & Sponsors
Funding source category [1]
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Government body
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Name [1]
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This research has been funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (Grant # APP1130353).
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Address [1]
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Australian Government
National Health and Medical Research Council
Research Committee Secretariat NHMRC GPO Box 1421 Canberra ACT 2601
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Country [1]
297406
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Australia
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Primary sponsor type
Other
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Name
Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute
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Address
99 Commercial road
Melbourne VIC 3004
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Country
Australia
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Secondary sponsor category [1]
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None
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Name [1]
296396
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Address [1]
296396
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Country [1]
296396
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Ethics approval
Ethics application status
Approved
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Ethics committee name [1]
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Alfred Hospital Ethics Committee
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Ethics committee address [1]
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55 Commercial Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004
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Ethics committee country [1]
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Australia
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Date submitted for ethics approval [1]
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27/10/2016
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Approval date [1]
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12/12/2016
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Ethics approval number [1]
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HREC/16/Alfred156
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Summary
Brief summary
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained heart rhythm problem that increases the chance of stroke and heart failure and currently represents a growing socioeconomic burden in our ageing population. Amongst the established risk factors of age, hypertension and diabetes, exercise is increasingly recognised as a powerful modulator of AF risk. Low and moderate intensity exercise is an important therapy in the prevention and treatment of AF but, at the other end of the spectrum, intense endurance exercise has been associated with a 5-fold increase in AF risk. The reasons for this excess are not known but may relate to the profound atrial remodelling that occurs with endurance athletic training. The rate at which AF occurs in retired elite endurance athletes will be compared with non-athletes who are matched for health status, age and gender. We will assess the extent to which exercise-induced changes in heart shape, function and electrical properties represent a short-term or permanent process. This will be assessed by comparing three groups: (1) young athletes adapting to elite training, (2) middle-aged athletes during end of career detraining, and (3) retired athletes with more than 10 years of competition at national or international level. A group of athletes with arrhythmias will also provide a meaningful comparison group to determine which characteristics are shared amongst groups. To study the changes in heart structure and function we will use the latest echocardiographic and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging techniques. The study is being conducted by a team of researchers at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, the South Australian Health and Medical Institute and a research team in Belgium led by A/Professor Andre La Gerche.
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Trial website
https://www.baker.edu.au/research/clinical-trials/pro-af-trial
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Trial related presentations / publications
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Public notes
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Contacts
Principal investigator
Name
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A/Prof Andre La Gerche
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Address
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Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute
Alfred Centre, level 4
99 Commercial Road
Melbourne
VIC 3004
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Country
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Australia
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Phone
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+61 3 8532 1111
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Fax
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Email
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[email protected]
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Contact person for public queries
Name
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Kristel Janssens
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Address
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Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute
Alfred Centre, level 4
99 Commercial Road
Melbourne
VIC 3004
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Country
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Australia
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Phone
77311
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+61 3 8532 1169
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Fax
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Email
77311
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[email protected]
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Contact person for scientific queries
Name
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Andre La Gerche
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Address
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Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute
Alfred Centre, level 4
99 Commercial Road
Melbourne
VIC 3004
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Country
77312
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Australia
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Phone
77312
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+61 3 8532 1111
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Fax
77312
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Email
77312
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[email protected]
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No information has been provided regarding IPD availability
What supporting documents are/will be available?
No Supporting Document Provided
Results publications and other study-related documents
Documents added manually
No documents have been uploaded by study researchers.
Documents added automatically
Source
Title
Year of Publication
DOI
Embase
Differing mechanisms of atrial fibrillation in athletes and non-athletes: alterations in atrial structure and function.
2020
https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ehjci/jeaa183
N.B. These documents automatically identified may not have been verified by the study sponsor.
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