OBJECTIVES Pericardial fat (PCF) may induce local inflammation and subsequent structural remodeling of the left atrium (LA). However, the adverse effects of PCF on LA are difficult to be evaluated and quantified. The atrial electromechanical interval determined by transthoracic echocardiogram was shown to be a convenient parameter which can reflect the process of LA remodeling. The goal of the ...

Maternal nutrient restriction leads to alteration in fetal adipose tissue, and offspring from obese mothers have an increased risk of developing obesity. We hypothesized that maternal obesity increases fetal adipogenesis. Multiparous ewes (Columbia/Rambouillet cross 3 to 5 yr of age) carrying twins were assigned to a diet of 100% (Control; CON; n = 4) or 150% (Obese; OB, n = 7) of NRC maintenan...

OBJECTIVE Pericardial adipose tissue (PAT), a regional fat depot adjacent to the myocardium, may mediate the complex relation between obesity and cardiac left ventricular (LV) abnormalities. We sought to evaluate the association of PAT with echocardiographic measures of LV abnormalities in the Jackson Heart Study (JHS). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 1,414 African Americans (35% men; ...

The average of overweight individual can have differential fat depots in target organs or specific compartments of the body. This ectopic fat distribution may be more of a predictive factor for cardiovascular risk than obesity. Abdominal visceral obesity, a representative ectopic fat, is robustly associated with insulin resistance and cardiovascular risk. Fat depots in the liver and muscle tiss...

background:  pericardial effusion (pe) in down syndrome (ds) patients  usually occur s   secondary to hypothyroidism,  but  we have   no  report of massive pericardial effusion in   euthyroid   down syndrome patient with  supravalvar  pulmonary stenosis . case presentation:  we  report ed   an   11-month-old  male with down syndrome   with  massive  pericardial  effusion that  had conservative ...

Figure 1: (a and b) Magnetic resonance and computed tomography studies display the left ventricle mass, protruding into the pericardial space and infiltrating epicardial fat; 18 months after surgery, a new mass presented with similar characteristics and size. (c) Jelly tumour from the surgeon’s view. (d) Haematoxilin–eosin stain showing a myxoid pattern with a reticulated matrix and elongated c...

Widespread anastomoses of the auricular branches and the coronary branches to the pericardial fat with the pericardiacophrenic branches of the internal mammary arteries and the anterior mediastinal, pericardial, bronchial, superior and inferior phrenic, intercostal and esophageal branches of the aorta have been described. The most extensive anastomoses between the cardiac and extracardiac vesse...

In this work, we present a technique to semi-automatically quantify the epicardial fat in non-contrasted computed tomography (CT) images. The epicardial fat is very close to the pericardial fat, being separated only by the pericardium that appears in the image as a very thin line, which is hard to detect. Therefore, an algorithm that uses the anatomy of the heart was developed to detect the per...

Background: In patients with coronary heart disease, being overweight or obese is associated with better outcomes, a phenomenon known as the 'obesity paradox'. Despite the high prevalence of obesity in the United Sates, its effects on infarct size are largely unexplored. Methods: Prospective cross-sectional study of 102 consecutive patients admitted with acute myocardial infarction (MI). Standa...