Assosiation of Epicardial and Pericardial Fat Thickness with Coronary Artery Disease

Abstract

IntroductionVisceral adipose tissue is a known important risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). While some studies have suggested relationship between epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and CAD, there are no adequate studies for pericardial fat thickness (PFT). The aim of this study was to determine the association of EFT and PFT with CAD.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted on patients who were candidates for elective coronary artery angiography, referred to Emam Reza Hospital, Mashhad, Iran during Jan 2014–2016. Demographic and laboratory data were collected. Transthoracic echocardiography was performed to determine average EFT and PFT at the standard parasternal long-axis view at end-systole for 3 cardiac cycles. SCA was performed on the same day. The patients were divided into two groups: CAD (n=59) and non-CAD (n=41) based on presence or absence of epicardial coronary artery stenosis of > 50%. Chi-square, independent T-test, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used by SPSS Version 16 for data analysis.ResultsOne hundred patients (44 women and 56 men) with an average age of 56.4 ± 9.9 years were studied. The two groups were not significantly different in demographic profile and cronary risk factors. While PFT was not significantly different between the two groups, EFT was significantly higher in CAD group (3.0 ± 3.69 vs. 1.2 ± 3.6, p <0.0001). Moreover, with the increase of the affected coronary arteries, EFT increased (p <0.0001). Gensini score had a strong correlation with amount of EFT (r = 0.765, p <0.0001). EFT with a cutoff value of 4.25 mm (sensitivity=79%, specificity=68%) was specified in predicting CAD.ConclusionEFT measured by echocardiography can be used as an independent marker to predict CAD. More studies are needed to determine the predictive role of PFT for CAD.

Is epicardial fat tissue associated with atrial fibrillation recurrence after ablation? A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Surprisingly, the present meta-analysis demonstrated a significant difference in EFT thickness between two groups with and without AF recurrence; similar to what was reported by CT about EFT volumes. These findings put emphasis on the importance of further evaluations on EFT reports about echocardiography, as a safe and non-invasive imaging modality [29]. Furthermore, the present study, as the first attempt to clarify the association between EFT and AF recurrence revealed a new possible imaging marker for the prediction of AF recurrence, which required further carefully-designed studies for more accurate evaluations.…”

Thickness of epicardial and pericoronary adipose tissue measured using 128-slice MSCT as predictors for risk of significant coronary artery diseases

“…Ghaderi et al demonstrated a relation between coronary disease assessed angiographically with echocardiographically measured epicardial adipose tissue thickness. A study performed on a group of 100 patients demonstrated that patients with significantly narrowed coronary arteries were characterized by significantly greater thickness of the epicardial adipose tissue, compared with the patients without significant stenosis in the coronary arteries [ 15 ]. Moreover, this study documented a relation between coronary disease risk factors and the EATT, as well as between the number of atherosclerotic coronary arteries and the EATT [ 15 ].…”

The Cutoff Pericardial Adipose Tissue Volume Associated with Metabolic Syndrome

“…The pericardial adipose tissue (PAT) is located in the pericardium and is a type of visceral fat that has attracted much attention from many researchers in recent years [ 8 , 9 ]. Several studies on PAT have focused on the relationship between PAT volume and heart disease [ 10 - 12 ].…”