These results suggest that EAT may reflect the amount of visceral fat, which is associated with insulin resistance and inflammation. The echocardiographic measurement of EAT may provide additional information for assessing CAD risk and predicting the extent and activity of CAD.

Background-We sought to investigate the mechanism of geometric changes after main branch (MB) stent implantation and to identify the predictors of functionally significant "jailed" side branch (SB) lesions. Methods and Results-Seventy-seven patients with bifurcation lesions were prospectively enrolled from 8 centers. MB intravascular ultrasound was performed before and after MB stent implantation, and fractional flow reserve was measured in the jailed SB. The vessel volume index of both the proximal and distal MB was increased after stent implantation. The plaque volume index decreased in the proximal MB (9.1Ϯ3.0 to 8.4Ϯ2.4 mm

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Index of microcirculatory resistance, a new index representing microvascular integrity, is a reliable early on-site determinant of myocardial viability and LV recovery after primary stenting for AMI.

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FMM/MLD could find physiological severity of coronary artery with higher accuracy than anatomical stenosis. FMM may explain the anatomical-physiological discordance.

BackgroundIn a previous study, we demonstrated that the thickness of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), measured by echocardiography, was increased in patients with metabolic syndrome (MS) and coronary artery disease (CAD). Several studies on obese patients, however, failed to demonstrate any relationship between EAT and CAD. We hypothesized that body mass index (BMI) affected the link between EAT and MS and CAD.MethodsWe consecutively enrolled 643 patients (302 males, 341 females; 59 ± 11 years), who underwent echocardiography and coronary angiography. The EAT thickness was measured on the free wall of the right ventricle at the end of diastole. All patients were divided into two groups: high BMI group, ≥27 kg/m2 (n = 165), and non-high BMI group, < 27 kg/m2 (n = 478).ResultsThe median and mean EAT thickness of 643 patients were 3.0 mm and 3.1 ± 2.4 mm, respectively. In the non-high BMI group, the median EAT thickness was significantly increased in patients with MS compared to those without MS (3.5 vs. 1.9 mm, p < 0.001). In the high BMI group, however, there was no significant difference in the median EAT thickness between patients with and without MS (3.0 vs. 2.5 mm, p = 0.813). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis predicting MS revealed that the area under the curve (AUC) of the non-high BMI group was significantly larger than that of the high BMI group (0.659 vs. 0.506, p = 0.007). When compared to patients without CAD, patients with CAD in both the non-high and high BMI groups had a significantly higher median EAT thickness (3.5 vs. 1.5 mm, p < 0.001 and 4.0 vs. 2.5 mm, p = 0.001, respectively). However, an ROC curve analysis predicting CAD revealed that the AUC of the non-high BMI group tended to be larger than that of the high BMI group (0.735 vs. 0.657, p = 0.055).ConclusionsWhile EAT thickness was significantly increased in patients with MS and CAD, the power of EAT thickness to predict MS and CAD was stronger in patients with BMI < 27 kg/m2. These findings showed that the measurement of EAT thickness by echocardiography might be especially useful in an Asian population with a non-high BMI, less than 27 kg/m2.