Thickness of epicardial adipose tissue as a predictor of cardiovascular risk

AbstractEpicardial fat is one of the most discussed and unexplored risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Structure of epicardial adipose tissue, it's functions and pathophysiological processes are observed. It is considered epicardial fat to increase cardiovascular risk. Currently, there is no standardized methodology for measuring the thickness of the epicardial fat. As the most accessible method, the method of transthoracic echocardiography is considered and described. The researchers suggested that the absence of the fascia separating the adventitia of the coronary arteries from the ECF may contribute to atherosclerotic lesions of the coronary arteries to a greater extent due to the paracrine effect of the ECF itself than from the processes of the systemic inflammatory process. At the same time, these studies are characterized by laboriousness, the need for specially trained personnel, high cost and, in the case of MSCT, radiation exposure for the patient, which significantly limits the possibility of their widespread use in clinical practice to assess the severity of epicardial obesity. Sacks et al. Pioglitazone therapy was associated with a lower expression of pro-inflammatory genes, in particular interleukin-1b, in the ECF in patients with type 2 diabetes (DM 2) and coronary artery disease. There is evidence that the volume and thickness of the EFT are associated with the degree and severity of metabolic syndrome and IHD, therefore, the measurement of the EFT thickness can be used as a prognostic marker of cardiometabolic diseases.