This cross-sectional study of 527 patients undergoing their first coronary angiography assessed the relationship between epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) thickness and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. A computed tomography scan was also performed in a random sample of 30 patients to measure intra-abdominal (visceral) adipose tissue accumulation. EAT thickness was strongly associated with intra-abdominal adipose tissue accumulation (r=0.63, p<0.001) and other CVD risk factors such as age, waist circumference, body mass index, C-reactive protein, and indices of insulin resistance. The number of components of the metabolic syndrome was also associated with a corresponding increase in EAT thickness. Multiple logistic analyses also revealed that EAT thickness was as strongly associated with angiographic coronary artery disease as age and diabetes mellitus. Based on these results, the authors suggested that measuring EAT thickness via transthoracic echocardiography could be a simple tool to provide further information on metabolic syndrome-related CVD risk.
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