Correlation of echocardiographic epicardial fat thickness with severity of coronary artery disease-an observational study.

OBJECTIVE 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. METHODS 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. RESULTS 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). CONCLUSION This study shows an association between EFT thickness and severity of CAD.