Correlation between epicardial adipose tissue and severity of coronary artery stenosis evaluated by 64-MDCT

Effects of Regular Taekwondo Intervention on Health-Related Physical Fitness, Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors and Epicardial Adipose Tissue in Elderly Women with Hypertension

Regular exercise has been proven to prevent hypertension and to help in the management of hypertension. There is a lack of studies examining changes in these issues as a result of Taekwondo training intervention. The aim of the current trial is to identify the effects of a regular Taekwondo (TKD) training program on health-related physical fitness (HRPF), cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, inflammatory factors, and epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) in elderly women with hypertension. To accomplish this, 20 participants, who were older women with hypertension, were divided into a TKD group (n = 10) and a control group (n = 10). The TKD program was conducted in program for 90 min, three times a week, for 12 weeks. Outcomes, including body composition, blood pressure (BP), HRPF, cardiovascular risk factor and EAT, were measured before and after the Taekwondo program. The 12-week TKD program improved body composition, BP, HRPF, CVD risk factor, and EAT in elderly women with hypertension relative to controls. Meanwhile, EAT and interukin-1β (r = 0.530, p < 0.05), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (r = 0.524, p < 0.05), triglyceride (r = 0.493, p < 0.05) and sedentary behavior (r = 0.459, p < 0.05) presented a positive correlation, while EAT and lean body mass (r = -0.453, p < 0.05) showed a negative correlation. The 12-week regular TKD training intervention was found to be effective in reducing the thickness of EAT measured by multi-detector computed tomography and can also enhance health-related physical fitness and risk factors of CVD in older individuals with hypertension.

Cardiac CT scanning in coronary artery disease: Epicardial fat volume and its correlation with coronary artery lesions and left ventricular function

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major and common disease that poses a threat to human health. Recent studies suggested that epicardial fat may have an important role in the pathogenesis of CAD. Therefore, the association between epicardial fat volume (EFV) and left ventricular function with CAD was investigated in the present study. A total of 61 patients with suspected CAD who underwent CT scanning were enrolled. Baseline data, parameters of left heart function and EFV of the subjects were collected and analyzed. The degree of coronary artery lesions was assessed using the Gensini score. Pearson's correlation analysis and a logistic regression model were applied to assess the association between EFV and risk factors for CAD, the Gensini score and left ventricular function index. A total of 29 female and 32 male subjects with a median age of 63 years were enrolled. The median body mass index (BMI) of the subjects was 23.37 kg/m² and the median EFV was 86.41 cm³. It was revealed that risk factors of CAD, specially hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, history of myocardial infarction and smoking, had no significant association with the EFV (P>0.05); however, the EFV was significantly positively correlated with the BMI (r=0.479, P<0.0001), interventricular septal thickness (r=0.436, P=0.004), left ventricular posterior wall thickness (r=0.350, P=0.0058), left ventricular end diastolic diameter (r=0.265, P=0.0388), left ventricular mass (r=0.445, P=0.0003) and left ventricular mass index (r=0.371, P=0.0035). However, no correlation was identified between the EFV and the Gensini score (r=0.131, P=0.3137). In conclusion, the EFV measured by cardiac CT scanning was positively correlated with the BMI and left ventricular function, but was not associated with the presence of CAD according to the Gensini scores.

Is echocardiographic epicardial fat thickness increased in patients with coronary artery disease? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

The relation of epicardial fat thickness (EFT) to coronary artery disease (CAD) has recently been reported in multiple studies. Echocardiography is a safe and relatively inexpensive and accessible approach to assess regional EFT, which can be performed easily in many centers.

Objective

To determine the association between echocardiographic EFT and the presence or the absence of CAD.

Methods

This was a systematic review and meta-analysis conducted on literature available in electronic databases up to March 2018. The articles measuring EFT by echocardiography in the right ventricular (RV) free wall were included in the study. The quality of the enrolled items was assessed using the Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS) checklist. The analyses were performed using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis version 2 software. Cochran’s Q test and I² index were used to evaluate heterogeneity.

Results

This meta-analysis was performed on 13 studies involving 2,436 patients (1,622 with CAD, and 814 without CAD). The maximum EFT reported by echocardiography was 12.9±2.7 mm in the CAD group and 8.4±2.5 mm in the non-CAD group. The minimum EFT reported by echocardiography was 2.2±1.8 mm in the CAD group and 1.8±1.4 mm in the non-CAD group. The heterogeneity was found among the researched studies (I²=91.8%, p=0.000, Q-value=146.43, df [Q] =12) using the random effect model. The patients with CAD had a significantly higher echocardiographic EFT than those without CAD (SMD=1.03, 95% CI= 0.70–1.37, p=0.000).

Conclusion

According to the findings of this meta-analysis, the echocardiographic EFT in the subjects with CAD was significantly higher than that of those without CAD. The measurement of echocardiographic EFT seems to be an acceptable strategy for risk stratification of heart diseases considering ease of use, cost-effectiveness and non-exposure characteristics, compared to other imaging interventions.