Epicardial Adipose Tissue Thickness is Higher in Right Ventricular Outflow Tract Tachycardia

Introduction: Idiopathic ventricular arrhythmias, which occur in the absence of structural heart disease, are commonly originating from the outflow tract, and 80% of the them arise from the right ventricle. Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), which originates from the splanchnopleuric mesoderm, has been shown to be an important source of inflammatory mediators and plays an important role in cardiac autonomic function by epicardial ganglionated plexuses. EAT may potentially contribute to the pathophysiology of idiopathic right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) tachycardia by different mechanisms. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between EAT thickness and RVOT tachycardia. Methods: This study included 55 patients (32 male, 23 female) with RVOT tachycardia and 60 control subjects (38 male, 22 female). Patients who had more than three consecutive ventricular beats over 100 bpm with specific morphological features on the electrocardiogram (ECG) were diagnosed with RVOT tachycardia. EAT thickness was measured by transthoracic echocardiography. Results: EAT thickness was significantly higher in the RVOT tachycardia group (p <0.05). Ejection fraction (EF), and the thickness of the posterior wall of the left ventricle and of the interventricular septum were significantly lower, and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, left ventricular end-systolic diameter, and left atrial diameter were significantly higher in patients who had RVOT tachycardia compared to normal subjects (p <0.05). Conclusion: Patients who were diagnosed with RVOT tachycardia had increased EAT thickness compared to normal subjects. The underlying mechanism of the condition could be mechanical, metabolic, infiltrative, or autonomic effects of the EAT.