Association of pericardial fat volume with coronary atherosclerotic disease assessed by CT angiography

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of pericardial fat volume (PFV) with coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with intermediate pre-test probability of ischaemic heart disease assessed by coronary CT angiography. METHODS: From a total of 115 consecutive Iraqi patients who underwent 64-multislice multidetector CT angiography examinations, only 74 patients (females, 38% and males, 68%) with a mean age of 54 ± 8 years were found to be eligible for statistical analysis. The patients were divided into two groups according to the median value of PFV (above and below 100 ml). RESULTS: The median value of PFV in our study was 100 ml (range, 17-319 ml). A significant association was observed between high PFV and significant coronary artery stenosis (p = 0.005), between high PFV and significant left circumflex stenosis (p = 0.021) and between high PFV and the presence of coronary plaque (p = 0.005). Whereas there was no significant correlation between high PFV and coronary calcium score (p = 0.188), between high PFV and number of diseased coronary vessels (p > 0.3), and between high PFV and body weight and body mass index. CONCLUSION: Increased PFV is strongly associated with the presence and severity of CAD. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: Our study highlights the role of pericardial fat as an emerging biomarker in cardiovascular risk assessment and supports its association with the magnitude of CAD.