Pericoronary Adiposity May Predict LV Function but Not CAD

The study covered in this summary was published in researchsquare.com as a preprint and has not yet been peer reviewed.

Key Takeaways

  • Pericoronary adipose tissue (PCAT) fat attenuation index (FAI) associated with different coronary arteries was positively correlated with echocardiographic markers of left ventricular (LV) function.

  • The correlations were strongest for PCAT associated with the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery.

  • But PCAT was not associated with severity of coronary artery disease (CAD).

  • Nor was PCAT correlated with body mass index (BMI) or a range of standard CAD risk factors.

Why This Matters

  • Recent studies have shown that PCAT participates in the process of coronary arterial inflammation and has been associated with higher risk of cardiac mortality.

  • The results suggest that cardiac mortality associated with increased PCAT FAI may be due to detrimental changes in LV function.

  • The study supports PCAT FAI as an imaging index of coronary arterial inflammation with a significant potential role in CAD diagnosis and evaluation.

Study Design

  • The retrospective single-center study enrolled 159 participants with clinically suspected CAD. The mean age of the patients was about 64, and 65% were men.

  • All participants underwent coronary CT angiography and echocardiography followed within 6 months by invasive coronary angiography.

  • Relationships between PCAT and CAD severity, and PCAT volume and LV function, were explored for any correlations.

  • Excluded from the study were patients with a history of myocardial infarction or cardiac surgery, anatomic variations in heart or coronary arteries, diseases that greatly affect cardiac function such as cardiomyopathy and heart-valve disease, a family history of CAD, or a failure of image reconstruction.

Key Results

  • PCAT volume was not associated with Gensini score (index of CAD severity), BMI, or standard CAD risk factors that included hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, smoking, and drinking.

  • PCAT FAI was associated with major epicardial coronary arteries and was positively associated with echocardiographic measures of LV function, including LV end-diastolic and end-systolic dimensions and volumes and LV mass. The relationship was strongest for the LAD coronary artery.

  • PCAT FAI was not associated with LAD or right-coronary arterial volume or BMI.

Limitations

  • The retrospective study was single-center with a small sample size.

  • Relatively few patients had severe CAD, and CAD severity was not stratified.

  • The study did not include information on lifestyle and treatment interventions.

  • Studies have shown there are differences in FAI by sex, and women and men were not equally represented. Further sex-specific variables to clarify the relationship between PCAT and LV function are needed.

Disclosures

  • The study received no commercial funding.

  • The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

This is a summary of a preprint research study, “The Correlation of Pericoronary Adipose Tissue With Coronary Artery Disease and Left Ventricular Function,” written by researchers at Changzhou No. 2 People’s Hospital, Changzhour, Jiangsu, China, published on ResearchSquare and provided to you by Medscape. This study has not yet been peer reviewed. The full text of the study can be found on researchsquare.com.

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