Relation between epicardial fat tissue and atrial fibrillation
Mustafa Kurt 1 * , İbrahim Halil Tanboğa, Enbiya Aksakal, Süleyman Karakoyun
More Detail
1 Erzurum Education and Research Hospital, Department of Cardiology, Erzurum, Turkey* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of the study was to evaluate the relationship of epicardial fat thickness (EFT) assessed by echocardiography with atrial fibrillation (AF) in a clinical setting.
Materials and methods: The study consisted of 58 AF patients who underwent echocardiography and a control group of 22 participants. The EFT thickness was measured on the free wall of the right ventricle from the parasternal long-axis view. The association between EFT and AF was studied by adjusting the risk factors for AF, including structural valvular diseases and multiple risk factors.
Results: EFT was significantly increased in patients with AF as compared to participants in the control group (6.5 ± 1.2 mm vs. 5.8 ± 1.0 mm, p=0.01). In subgroup analysis of different types of AF, EFT was significantly increased in permanent AF in relation to paroxysmal and persistent AF (6.8 ± 0.9 mm vs. 6,0 ± 1.2 mm and 5.8±1.2 respectively). In addition, EFT measurements were comparable between sinus rhythm, paroxysmal and persistent AF.
Conclusions: Epicardial fat thickness measured by echocardiography seems to be associated with the chronicity of AF.

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

J Clin Exp Invest, 2012, Volume 3, Issue 1, 13-17

https://doi.org/10.5799/ahinjs.01.2012.01.0103

Publication date: 13 Mar 2012

Article Views: 2385

Article Downloads: 982

Open Access References How to cite this article