Epicardial adipose tissue was significantly thicker in elderly patients with bradyarrhythmia requiring permanent pacemakers compared to controls (4.5 ± 1.2 mm vs. 3.6 ± 1.3 mm, p=0.0017).
Case-Control (n=208)
No
Is epicardial adipose tissue thickness associated with bradyarrhythmia requiring permanent pacemaker implantation in elderly patients?
Epicardial adipose tissue thickness is significantly increased in elderly patients with bradyarrhythmia requiring pacemaker implantation, suggesting a potential role in sinus and AV node dysfunction.
Absolute Event Rate: 4.5% vs 3.6%
p-value: p=0.0017
ABSTRACT Background Aging is one of the most significant risk factors for sinus node (SN) and atrioventricular node (AVN) dysfunction. Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is reported to promote myocardial fibrosis and influence intracardiac conduction through the release of inflammatory cytokines and direct tissue infiltration. The SN and AVN are in contact with EAT, which may affect the SN function and AVN conduction. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between bradyarrhythmia and EAT. Methods We enrolled 103 patients with bradyarrhythmia requiring permanent pacemaker (PM) implantations and 105 patients who underwent catheter ablation of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia in our hospital as a control (all patients were over 65 years old) and analyzed the preoperative echocardiograms retrospectively and measured the EAT thickness. We compared the EAT thickness between the PM group and control. Results There were 38 (36.9%) PM group patients with sick sinus syndrome and 65 (63.1%) with advanced atrioventricular block. The EAT was significantly thicker in the PM group than control (PM group 4.6 ± 1.2 mm vs. control 3.6 ± 1.3 mm, p < 0.0001). The EAT was also significantly thicker in the PM group than control (PM group 4.5 ± 1.2 mm vs. control 3.6 ± 1.3 mm, p = 0.0017) after propensity score matching (age, gender, hypertension, history of heart failure, left atrial diameter, and estimated glomerular filtration rate). Conclusions The EAT thickness was associated with bradyarrhythmia requiring permanent PM implantation and may become a risk factor for SN and AVN dysfunction in elderly people.
Tomomori et al. (Wed,) conducted a case-control in Bradyarrhythmia (n=208). Bradyarrhythmia requiring permanent pacemaker vs. Catheter ablation of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (control) was evaluated on Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) thickness after propensity score matching (p=0.0017). Epicardial adipose tissue was significantly thicker in elderly patients with bradyarrhythmia requiring permanent pacemakers compared to controls (4.5 ± 1.2 mm vs. 3.6 ± 1.3 mm, p=0.0017).