The efficacy of treating atrial fibrillation by RF ablation on the epicardial surface is currently under question due to the presence of epicardial adipose tissue interposed between the ablation electrode and target site (atrial wall). The problem is probably caused by the electrical conductivity of the fat (0.02 S/m) being lower than that of the atrial tissue (0.4-0.6 S/m). Since our objective...

Background—Transthoracic epicardial catheter ablation is an emerging catheter ablation strategy being used clinically at increasing frequency. However, the efficacy of standard RF ablation on the epicardial surface of the heart is hindered by (1) the lack of convective cooling of the ablation electrode and (2) the varying presence of epicardial adipose tissue interposed between the ablation ele...

BACKGROUND Transthoracic epicardial catheter ablation is an emerging catheter ablation strategy being used clinically at increasing frequency. However, the efficacy of standard RF ablation on the epicardial surface of the heart is hindered by (1) the lack of convective cooling of the ablation electrode and (2) the varying presence of epicardial adipose tissue interposed between the ablation ele...

The amount of adipose tissue that accumulates around the atria is associated with the risk, persistence, and severity of atrial fibrillation (AF). A strong body of clinical and experimental evidence indicates that this relationship is not an epiphenomenon but is the result of complex crosstalk between the adipose tissue and the neighbouring atrial myocardium. For instance, epicardial adipose ti...

Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) has been found to be an important reliable marker for future coronary events. Deposition of the EAT in young individuals is not well known. We studied EAT in 25 young overweight or obese individuals. In spite of the high visceral fat and total body fat, EAT thickness was not found to be high in the participants of our study.

Association Between Epicardial Adipose Tissue Volumes on 3-Dimensional Reconstructed CT Images and Recurrence of Atrial Fibrillation After Catheter Ablation Koichi Nagashima, Yasuo Okumura, Ichiro Watanabe, Toshiko Nakai, Kimie Ohkubo, Tatsuya Kofune, Masayoshi Kofune, Hiroaki Mano, Kazumasa Sonoda, Atsushi Hirayama ····································2559 In 2011 (January to October), the ave...