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Exploring the relationship between epicardial fat and coronary plaque burden and characteristics: insights from cardiac ct imaging

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Abstract

Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) may enhance the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). We investigated the relationship between EAT density (a maker of local inflammation) and coronary plaque characteristics in stable CAD patients. This study included 123 individuals who underwent coronary artery calcium scan and coronary CT angiography to evaluate CAD. Plaque characteristics were analyzed by semi-automated software (QAngio, Leiden, Netherlands). Non-contrast CT scans were used to measure EAT density (HU) and volume (cc) (Philips, Cleveland, OH). Multivariate regression models were used to evaluate the association of EAT density and volume with different plaque types. The mean (SD) age was 59.4±10.1 years, 53% were male, the mean (SD) EAT density was -77.2±4.6 HU and the volume was 118.5±41.2 cc. After adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors, EAT density was associated with fibrous fatty (FF) plaque (p<0.03). A 1 unit increase in HU was associated with a 7% higher FF plaque, and lower EAT density is independently associated to FF plaque. The association between EAT density and fibrous (p=0.08), and total noncalcified (p=0.09) plaque trended toward but did not reach significance. There was no association between EAT volume and any plaque type. These results suggest that inflammatory EAT may promote coronary atherosclerosis. Therefore, non-contrast cardiac CT evaluation of EAT quality can help better assess cardiovascular risk.

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No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

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Author notes

  1. Venkat Sanjay Manubolu and Julia Ying Lu are co first authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lundquist Institute, Harbor UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA, 90502, USA

    Venkat Sanjay Manubolu, Brian Montano, April Kininger, Dhiran Verghese, Luay Alalawi, Jairo Aldana Bitar, Leili Pourafkari, Hooman Fazlalizadeh, Keishi Ichikawa, Ahmad Khadije, Javier Denise, Ahmed Ghanem, Sajad Hamal, Song Mao, Matthew J. Budoff & Sion K. Roy

  2. Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, 1000 W Carson Street, Box 400, Torrance, CA, 90502, USA

    Julia Ying Lu & Jassimran Bainiwal

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Contributions

Venkat S Manubolu*- Original draft writing, data acquisition, formal analysis and interpretation of data, revising draft content. Julia Y Lu*- Original draft writing, interpretation of data, formal analysis, revising draft content. Brian Montano- data acquisition, formal analysis, revising draft content. April Kinninger- formal analysis, interpretation of data, revising draft content. Jassimran Bainiwal- data acquisition, revising draft content. Dhiran Verghese- data acquisition, interpretation of data, revising draft content. Luay Alalawi- data acquisition, interpretation of data, revising draft content. Jairo A Bitar- data acquisition, interpretation of data, revising draft content. Leili Pourakfari- data acquisition, revising draft content. Hooman Fazlalizadeh- data acquisition, interpretation of data, revising draft content. Keishi Ichikawa- data acquisition, interpretation of data, revising draft content. Ahmed Khadije- data acquisition, interpretation of data, revising draft content. Javier Denise- data acquisition, revising draft content. Ahmed Ghanem- data acquisition, revising draft content. Sajad Hamal- data acquisition, revising draft content. Song Mao- data acquisition, revising draft content. Matthew J Budoff- formal analysis and interpretation of data, revising draft content. Sion K Roy- Conception and design of the study, original draft writing, analysis and interpretation of data. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Julia Ying Lu.

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Manubolu, V.S., Lu, J.Y., Montano, B. et al. Exploring the relationship between epicardial fat and coronary plaque burden and characteristics: insights from cardiac ct imaging. Int J Cardiovasc Imaging (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10554-024-03186-9

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