Epicardial Adipose Tissue and Cardiovascular Disease

Epicardial Adipose Tissue: Clinical Biomarker of Cardio-Metabolic Risk

“…Cardiovascular disease remains the highest cause of mortality worldwide according to the WHO. EAT thickness is also correlated with the development of atrial myopathy leading to atrial fibrillation and thromboembolic stroke; this is well established [53,54,55]. Early reports associate EAT with bi-ventricular hypertrophy, and impaired bi-ventricular diastolic relaxation and filling leading to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction [1,56], but more recent data is less suggestive of the role of EAT in heart failure [55].…”

“…EAT thickness is also correlated with the development of atrial myopathy leading to atrial fibrillation and thromboembolic stroke; this is well established [53,54,55]. Early reports associate EAT with bi-ventricular hypertrophy, and impaired bi-ventricular diastolic relaxation and filling leading to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction [1,56], but more recent data is less suggestive of the role of EAT in heart failure [55]. EAT volume is not only associated with CAD but with vulnerable plaque components, which may contribute to acute coronary syndrome [20,57,58].…”

Adipokines and Inflammation: Focus on Cardiovascular Diseases

“…Thus, due to its proximity to the heart, EAT deregulation can affect myocardial function by increasing cardiac lipid accumulation, insulin resistance, and fibrosis due to a decreased secretion of anti-inflammatory adipokines such as adiponectin and an increased secretion of pro-inflammatory adipokines like leptin, TNFα, IL-1β, IL-6, or resistin [ 12 , 19 ]. Moreover, it has been proposed that the adipokines released by EAT in pathological conditions have paracrine effects on cardiac electrical activity, affecting conductivity and promoting atrial fibrillation [ 20 ], and in coronary arteries, they cause atherosclerosis through the promotion of inflammation and immune cell infiltration [ 21 , 22 ]. Lately, EAT thickness has been considered a clinical biomarker that correlates to features of heart failure and metabolic syndrome [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ].…”

Epicardial adipose tissue: An anatomic component of obesity & metabolic syndrome in close proximity to myocardium & coronary arteries

“…Post-mortem studies of individuals without clinically evident cardiovascular disease (CVD) or type 2 diabetes have shown that EAT constitutes up to 20 per cent of ventricular mass and covers up to 80 per cent of heart's surface 3 . On an average, EAT weights about 100 g and accounts for about one per cent of total body fat in healthy individuals 4 . In diabetic patients, EAT weight increases up to 400 g, occasionally reaching 800 g 4 5 .…”

“…On an average, EAT weights about 100 g and accounts for about one per cent of total body fat in healthy individuals 4 . In diabetic patients, EAT weight increases up to 400 g, occasionally reaching 800 g 4 5 . The EAT thickness varies from 5 to 7 mm over the right ventricular free wall and from 10 to 14 mm over the atrioventricular and interventricular grooves.…”