Shemirani Hasan, Khoshavi Meysam
From Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Noor Hospital, Iran.
Anadolu Kardiyol Derg. 2012 May;12(3):200-5. doi: 10.5152/akd.2012.061. Epub 2012 Feb 24.
Epicardial fat is an indirect contact with coronary arteries. There are some studies about the relationship between this fat and metabolic syndrome and it has considered as an indicator of cardiovascular risk. Several studies have addressed the association between epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and coronary artery disease (CAD) with conflicting results. The aim of our study was to evaluate the hypothesis that echocardiographic EFT thickness could be a marker severe CAD.
Overall, 315 cases who underwent coronary angiography were classified in two groups: Normal and CAD. Measurement of EFT was done with echocardiography. The difference between mean EFT in two groups was analyzed. Califf scoring considered for severity of CAD. Then the relationship between EFT and age, sex, body mass index (BMI), serum lipids and severity of CAD was evaluated. The obtained data were compared by using ANCOVA test, Pearson and Spearman's partial correlation analyses.
The EFT in CAD group was significantly higher than in normal group (5.4 ± 1.9 mm vs 4.4 ± 1.8 mm, p=0.0001). EFT had a positive relationship with Califf scoring of diseased coronary arteries (r=0.158 p=0.04), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p=0.04), female gender (p=0.02), BMI (p=0.001) and serum triglyceride levels (p=0.04).
This study shows an association between EFT thickness and severity of CAD.
心外膜脂肪与冠状动脉间接接触。已有一些关于这种脂肪与代谢综合征之间关系的研究，并且它被视为心血管风险的一个指标。多项研究探讨了心外膜脂肪厚度（EFT）与冠状动脉疾病（CAD）之间的关联，但结果相互矛盾。我们研究的目的是评估超声心动图测量的EFT厚度可能是重度CAD标志物这一假说。
总体而言，315例行冠状动脉造影的病例被分为两组：正常组和CAD组。通过超声心动图测量EFT。分析两组平均EFT之间的差异。采用Califf评分评估CAD的严重程度。然后评估EFT与年龄、性别、体重指数（BMI）、血脂及CAD严重程度之间的关系。使用协方差分析、Pearson和Spearman偏相关分析对所得数据进行比较。
CAD组的EFT显著高于正常组（5.4±1.9mm对4.4±1.8mm，p=0.0001）。EFT与病变冠状动脉的Califf评分（r=0.158，p=0.04）、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇（p=0.04）、女性性别（p=0.02）、BMI（p=0.001）及血清甘油三酯水平（p=0.04）呈正相关。
本研究显示EFT厚度与CAD严重程度之间存在关联。
