Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010 Mar;42(3):463-9. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181b8b1f0.
To explore the influence of the epicardial fat (EF) tissue on aspects of heart rate recovery (HRR) and cardiorespiratory fitness (V O2peak) in middle-aged men.
A cross-sectional analysis of EF thickness was performed on 101 overweight or obese men. The men were categorized into low-EF, moderate-EF, and high-EF groups on the basis of ventricular EF thickness, as measured by transthoracic echocardiography. V O2peak was assessed with a graded maximal cycle ergometric test, including measurement of HRR 2 min after test cessation to estimate parasympathetic activity, with assessment of several metabolic parameters.
Men in the highest and the middle EF thickness tertile had significantly slower recovery times than subjects in the lowest tertile, respectively (P < 0.05). Subjects with higher EF thickness were more likely to have impaired recovery and to reveal lower cardiorespiratory fitness than low-EF group subjects. There was a significant partial correlation, adjusted by age and body weight, between EF thickness and V O2peak (r = -0.25, P = 0.014). In the hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses, EF thickness was the strongest predicting variable associated with V O2peak in these population (beta = -1.182, P = 0.001).
Higher EF thickness in men is associated with lower HRR at 1 and 2 min, a representation of autonomic dysfunction and poor cardiorespiratory fitness. These data suggest that moderately obese men with thicker EF tissue demonstrate reduced cardiorespiratory fitness and a differing parasympathetic response to exercise testing, as compared with men with lower EF levels.
探讨心外膜脂肪（EF）组织对中年男性心率恢复（HRR）和心肺功能（V O2peak）各方面的影响。
对 101 名超重或肥胖男性进行 EF 厚度的横断面分析。根据经胸超声心动图测量的心室 EF 厚度，将男性分为低 EF、中 EF 和高 EF 组。V O2peak 通过分级最大循环测力计测试进行评估，包括测试停止后 2 分钟测量 HRR，以估计副交感神经活动，并评估几个代谢参数。
EF 厚度最高和中间 tertile 的男性比最低 tertile 的男性恢复时间明显更慢（P < 0.05）。EF 厚度较高的受试者比低 EF 组受试者更有可能出现恢复受损，心肺功能较差。在调整年龄和体重后，EF 厚度与 V O2peak 之间存在显著的部分相关（r = -0.25，P = 0.014）。在分层多元线性回归分析中，EF 厚度是这些人群中与 V O2peak 相关性最强的预测变量（beta = -1.182，P = 0.001）。
男性 EF 厚度较高与 1 分钟和 2 分钟时 HRR 降低相关，这代表自主神经功能障碍和心肺功能不佳。这些数据表明，与 EF 水平较低的男性相比，EF 组织较厚的中度肥胖男性的心肺功能较差，对运动测试的副交感神经反应不同。
