Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE, or major adverse cardiac events) is a
composite endpoint frequently used in cardiovascular research.
Despite widespread use of the term in clinical trials, the definitions of MACE can differ, which makes comparison of similar studies difficult.
The so-called "classical 3-point MACE" is defined as a composite of nonfatal
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
, nonfatal
myocardial infarction
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may ...
, and cardiovascular death.
But another study defines MACE as "CVD events, admission for HF (
Heart Failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...
), ischemic
cardiovascular
The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...
Vevents, cardiac death, or MACE".
Yet another study defined MACE as "CV death, hospitalization for HF, or myocardial infarction (MI)".
Two reviews have concluded that
SGLT2 inhibitor
SGLT2 inhibitors, also called gliflozins or flozins, are a class of medications that modulate sodium-glucose transport proteins in the nephron (the functional units of the kidney), unlike SGLT1 inhibitors that perform a similar function in the ...
s benefit patients with atherosclerotic MACE.
One of those studies defined MACE as the composite of myocardial infarction, stroke, or cardiovascular death.
The heterogeneity of the sets defining MACE, hampering systematic reviews and meta-analyses, has been repeatedly criticized.
References
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Cardiovascular system