Association of Epicardial Adipose Tissue Thickness by Echocardiography
With Coronary Artery Disease
Abstract
Background: Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) mimics visceral fat which is
associated with metabolic derangements and coronary artery disease
(CAD). EAT volume (EAT-V) measured by CT scan had shown good correlation
with CAD. QRISK3 score is a validated risk predictor of future
cardiovascular events but has limitations. We assessed whether EAT
thickness (EAT-T) measured by echocardiography, a simple and widely
available tool, correlated with EAT-V, and whether EAT-T is a predictor
of CAD independently of QRISK3 scores. Methods: We enrolled 97 patients
who underwent CTA for evaluation of chest pain. EAT-T was measured by
2D-echocardiography in parasternal long axis (PLAX) and parasternal
short axis (PSAX) views. We evaluated association of EAT-T with EAT-V
and CAD (≥50% stenosis on CTA); and independent predictive value of
EAT-T for CAD after adjusting for QRISK 3 scores. Results: EAT-T was
significantly more in patients with CAD (PLAX: 4.82 ± 1.31 mm vs. 4.06 ±
1.25 mm, p=0.005). EAT-T correlated strongly with EAT-V (r=0.75,
p<0.001). On receiver operating characteristic curve analysis,
EAT-T (PLAX) ≥3.9 mm (area-under-curve: 0.68; 95% CI: 0.58-0.79,
sensitivity 84%, specificity 55%) predicted the presence of CAD. On
multivariate analysis after adjusting for QRISK 3 scores, EAT-T showed
significant association with CAD with highest odds ratio for indexed
EAT-T (EAT-T/body surface area) (PLAX) ≥2.2 mm/m2 (OR 5.40; 95% CI:
2.17-13.55.; p<0.001). Conclusion: EAT-T is a predictor of CAD
independent of QRISK3 scores. An increased EAT-T detected CAD with
>80% sensitivity. These findings need to be validated in
larger prospective cohort studies.