Epicardial fat is a relatively neglected component of the heart and could be an important risk factor of cardiac disease. The objective of our study was to assess the relationship between epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) extent, fat distribution, and coronaropathy in a group of adult victims of accidental or suspicious sudden death. In 56 cadavers, we performed 34 measurements of EAT from five computerized photographs of the heart (anterior and posterior faces, and three ventricle transversal slices) and analyzed their relationship with anthropometric markers of adiposity (BMI, waist and leg circumference, thickness of abdominal and thigh subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT)), with the presence and staging of coronary artery disease (CAD), and with markers of myocardial hypertrophy. Simple linear regressions showed that EAT measurements are highly intercorrelated (r from 0.4 to 0.6, P < 0.001), and correlate with age, waist circumference, and heart weight, and to a lesser extent, with BMI, abdominal SAT thickness, and leg SAT thickness. Multiple regression showed that age, waist circumference, and heart weight significantly and independently correlate with EAT (P < 0.0001). No other anthropometric measurement was found independently correlated with EAT. The EAT/myocardium ratios correlated positively with age and waist circumference. Anterior and posterior areas of EAT were found significantly increased in patients with CAD and correlated positively with CAD staging (P = 0.0034, r = 0.38). Anterior EAT surface was found positively associated with CAD (P = 0.01), independently of age and other adiposity measurements. Prospective studies are needed to assess the risk of occurrence/progression of CAD that relate to EAT excess.

Objective: To assess epicardial fat volume (EFV), myocardial TG content (MTGC) and metabolic profile in severely obese patients, and to determine whether ectopic fat depots are linked to metabolic disorders or myocardial function. Research design and methods: Sixty-three subjects with normal LV function and no coronary artery disease, including 33 lean (BMI: 21.4 ± 2.0 kg m À2 ) and 30 obese (BMI: 41.8 ± 6 kg m À2 ) patients, underwent 3-T cardiovascular MRI, and anthropometric, biological and visceral abdominal fat (VAT) assessments. EFV was measured by short-axis slice imaging and myocardial (intra-myocellular) TG content was measured by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Results: EFV and MTGC were positively correlated (r ¼ 0.52, Po0.0001), and were both strongly correlated with age, BMI, waist circumference and VAT, but not with severity of obesity. EFV and MTGC were significantly higher in obese patients than in lean controls (141±18 versus 79±7 ml, P ¼ 0.0001; 1.0±0.1 versus 0.6±0.1%, P ¼ 0.01, respectively), but some differences were found between the two cardiac depots: EFV was higher in diabetic obese subjects as compared with that in non-diabetic obese subjects (213±34 versus 141±18 ml, P ¼ 0.03), and was correlated with parameters of glucose tolerance (fasting plasma glucose, insulin and HOMA-IR), whereas MTGC was not. EFV and MTGC were both associated with parameters of lipid profile or inflammation (TGs, CRP). Remarkably, this was VAT-dependent, as only VAT remained independently associated with metabolic parameters (Po0.01). Concerning myocardial function, MTGC was the only parameter independently associated with stroke volume (b ¼ À0.38, P ¼ 0.01), suggesting an impact of cardiac steatosis in cardiac function. Conclusions: These data show that VAT dominates the relationship between EFV, MTGC and metabolic measures, and uncover specific partitioning of cardiac ectopic lipid deposition.