Diagnostic Values of Epicardial Adipose Tissue Thickness with Right Common Carotid Artery Elasticity and Intima-Media Thickness for Middle-Aged and Elderly Patients with Coronary Heart Disease

Abstract

Background Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common cardiovascular disease which greatly threatens the health of middle-aged and elderly people. Objective To explore the correlations of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) thickness with right common carotid artery elasticity and intima-media thickness (IMT) in middle-aged and elderly patients with CHD by ultrasound. Methods A total of 132 patients diagnosed with CHD by coronary angiography (CAG) from February 2019 to August 2020 were enrolled and divided into single-vessel disease group (n=38), double-vessel disease group (n=52), and three-vessel disease group (n=42), and 52 healthy subjects were selected as control group. Their general data, biochemical indices, EAT thickness, right common carotid artery elasticity indices, and IMT were compared. The correlations of EAT thickness with right common carotid artery elasticity indices and IMT were studied by Pearson’s analysis. The predictive values of EAT thickness and IMT for CHD were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic curves. Results With increasing number of diseased branches, EAT thickness, stiffness parameters β (β), strain elastic modulus (Ep), pulse wave velocity β (PWV-β) and IMT increased, arterial compliance (AC) decreased (P<0.05), but argumentation index (AI) did not change significantly. EAT thickness had significant positive correlations with β, Ep, PWV-β and IMT, negative correlation with AC, and no significant correlation with AI. The areas under the curves of EAT thickness and IMT for predicting CHD were 0.806 and 0.784, respectively. Conclusion EAT thickness is significantly correlated with right common carotid artery elasticity and IMT in middle-aged and elderly patients with CHD, and EAT thickness and IMT have high predictive values. The three indices are crucial for CHD diagnosis.

Characteristic analysis of clinical coronary heart disease and coronary artery disease concerning young and middle-aged male patients

“…CHD is a common disease caused by functional and organic stenosis of the coronary arteries, resulting in decreased oxygenated blood in the heart[ 11 ]. CHD occurrence and development are closely related to daily life habits, individual differences in patients, and so on[ 12 - 17 ].…”

The association of coronary non-calcified plaque loading based on coronary computed tomography angiogram and adverse cardiovascular events in patients with unstable coronary heart disease-a retrospective cohort study

“…In addition, the ROC curve analysis of this study showed that the diagnostic value of non-calcified plaque volume and loading for the recurrence of adverse cardiovascular events within 1 year in unstable CHD patients was comparable to that of carotid intima-media thickness, LVEF, hypertension, and so on. The carotid intima-media thickness, LVEF, and hypertension have been confirmed to be good predictors of adverse cardiovascular events (17)(18)(19)(20), which indicates that the use of CCTA to measure the volume and loading of non-calcified plaques is of good value in diagnosing adverse cardiovascular events that recur within 1 year in patients with unstable CHD.…”

Ethnic disparities and its association between epicardial adipose tissue thickness and cardiometabolic parameters

“…The correlation of EAT with age was statistically significant and is in agreement with several studies. It has been well established that CAD risk in middle-aged and elderly patients is correlated with increased EAT thickness, and regarded as a prominent indicator for diagnosis of CAD among this age group [ 36 ]. As a person ages, the epicardial fat thickness will increase due to redistribution of the fat to the visceral and trunk [ 37 ].…”