Clinical Utility of Measuring Epicardial Adipose Tissue Thickness with Echocardiography Using a High-Frequency Linear Probe in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

Yukina Hirata; Hirotsugu Yamada; Kenya Kusunose; Takashi Iwase; Susumu Nishio; Shuji Hayashi; Mika Bando; Rie Amano; Koji Yamaguchi; Takeshi Soeki; Tetsuzo Wakatsuki; Masataka Sata

doi:10.1016/j.echo.2015.07.006

Clinical Utility of Measuring Epicardial Adipose Tissue Thickness with Echocardiography Using a High-Frequency Linear Probe in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2015 Oct;28(10):1240-1246.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.echo.2015.07.006. Epub 2015 Aug 12.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Ultrasound Examination Center, Tokushima University Hospital, Tokushima, Japan; Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Tokushima University Hospital, Tokushima, Japan.
² Ultrasound Examination Center, Tokushima University Hospital, Tokushima, Japan; Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Tokushima University Hospital, Tokushima, Japan. Electronic address: yamadah@tokushima-u.ac.jp.

PMID: 26275751
DOI: 10.1016/j.echo.2015.07.006

Abstract

Background: The relationship between epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) and coronary artery disease (CAD) has recently attracted a great deal of attention in the medical community. The objective of this study was to determine whether measuring EAT thickness in the anterior interventricular groove (AIG) using echocardiography is feasible and whether this index can be a marker of CAD.

Methods: A total of 311 patients (mean age, 67 ± 11 years; 208 men) who underwent coronary angiography between December 2011 and December 2013 were prospectively enrolled. EAT-AIG thickness and EAT thickness on the free wall of the right ventricle (RV) were measured in systole using a high-frequency linear probe. Seventy-one patients who underwent multidetector-row computed tomography were enrolled to validate the method for measuring EAT thickness using echocardiography. Subjects were divided into two groups, those with and without significant coronary stenosis, on the basis of findings on coronary angiography (≥ 75% luminal narrowing).

Results: EAT-AIG thickness measured using echocardiography was validated by computed tomography. EAT-AIG thickness was strongly correlated with EAT volume (r = 0.714, P < .001). The CAD group had thicker EAT-AIG than the non-CAD group (8.3 ± 3.0 vs 6.3 ± 2.5 mm, P < .001). EAT-RV thickness was greater in the CAD group than in the non-CAD group (5.0 ± 2.1 vs 4.4 ± 2.3 mm, P = .009) as well. The area under the curve on receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of EAT-AIG thickness for predicting CAD was 0.704, which was higher than the EAT-RV thickness.

Conclusions: Measuring EAT thickness using echocardiography with a high-frequency linear probe was validated with computed tomography. EAT-AIG was thicker in the CAD group than in the non-CAD group, as was EAT-RV thickness. This noninvasive index may have potential as a diagnostic marker for predicting coronary atherosclerosis.

Keywords: Anterior interventricular groove; Computed tomography; Coronary artery disease; Echocardiography; Epicardial adipose tissue.

Publication types

Comparative Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adipose Tissue / diagnostic imaging*
Adiposity
Age Distribution
Aged
Cohort Studies
Coronary Angiography / methods
Coronary Disease / diagnostic imaging*
Coronary Disease / physiopathology
Echocardiography / methods*
Female
Humans
Incidence
Male
Middle Aged
Multidetector Computed Tomography / methods*
Pericardium / diagnostic imaging*
Prognosis
Prospective Studies
ROC Curve
Risk Assessment
Sex Distribution