Correlation of Echocardiographic Epicardial Fat Thickness with Severity of Coronary Artery Disease in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test the hypotheses that epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) can be a marker of severe coronary artery disease in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Overall, 373 cases who underwent coronary angiography were classified into 2 groups by SYNTAX score: low-score and high-score group. EAT was measured by transthoracic echocardiography. Obtained data were compared using Pearson correlation analyses and univariate and multiple logistic regression analysis. The results showed that EAT in the high-score group was significantly greater than in the normal group (5.6 ± 1.1 vs. 4.1 ± 1.0 mm, P < 0.01). EAT had a positive correlation with SYNTAX score (r = 0.61, P < 0.01). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses showed that EAT could reliably discriminate patients with high SYNTAX score (≥ 33) [AUC: 0.86, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.822-0.898, P < 0.01]. Multivariate regression analyses showed that EAT was an independent predictor for major in-hospital events. These data showed an association between EAT and SYNTAX score.

Original research. The Assessment of Epicardial Adipose Tissue in Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients. A Systematic Review

“…[38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45] Table 1 presents a summary of the included manuscripts. All systematized manuscripts contain a concise and clear portrayal of the inclusion and exclusion criteria and the method for assessing EAT, either through cardiac CT or TTE (Table 1).…”

“…42 Most researchers (n = 6) used the Receiver Operator Characteristics (ROC) curve and the area under the curve for the determination of the cut-off value for EAT values that predicted the study outcome. [37][38][39][40][41]45 All selected articles used Spearman or Pearson correlation coefficient statistics for evaluating the link between epicardial fat and other clinical and laboratory variables.…”

“…40 One study42 had a three-year follow-up period, with major adverse cardiovascular events as a primary endpoint. EFV -epicardial fat volume (ml); EFT -epicardial fat thickness; CABG -coronary by-pass grafting; PCI -percutaneous coronary intervention; CAD -coronary artery disease; ACS -acute coronary syndromes; CKD -chronic kidney disease; BMI-body mass index; TTE -transthoracic echocardiography; MBG -myocardial blush grade; TCF -thrombolysis in myocardial infarction frame count; IRA -infarct-related artery; USAP -unstable angina pectoris.…”

“…[38][39][40][41][43][44][45] Zencirci et al (2014) hypothesized that there is an inverse association between the EAT and the STsegment resolution following primary PCI for acute STE-MI. 45 Other studied risk scores are the SYNTAX score for coronary atherosclerosis severity, the GRACE and TIMI risk scores for survival following an acute cardiac event,…”

An Important Question That Needs to Be Proved: Is There Any Relationship between the Epicardial Fat Thickness and the Coronary Artery Complexity in Patients with Acute Non-ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction?

“…Wang T. et al (32) suggested that EFT could serve as a marker of severe CAD in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This study highlights the correlation between echocardiographic EFT and the severity of CAD.…”