Pericardial Fat Amount Is an Independent Risk Factor of Coronary Artery Stenosis Assessed by Multidetector-Row Computed Tomography: The Korean Atherosclerosis Study 2

Pericardial fat surrounding the heart and coronary arteries might aggravate vessel wall inflammation and stimulate the progression of coronary atherosclerosis. However, there has been little comprehensive evaluation of the effects of pericardial fat on coronary artery disease (CAD). We investigated the relationship between pericardial fat volume and the severity of coronary artery stenosis assessed by computed tomography and angiography among patients with suspected CAD. Participants from the cohort of the Korean Atherosclerosis Study 2 (n = 402, mean age of 54 years, 57.0% men) underwent 64-slice multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) to assess pericardial fat amount, coronary artery calcium score (CACS), severity of coronary artery stenosis, and plaque characteristics. Patients with atherosclerotic lesion had significantly larger volume of pericardial fat than patients without atherosclerosis (308 ± 96 cm(3) vs. 251 ± 93 cm(3); P 50%) stenosed coronary vessels (odds ratio (OR) = 1.012; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.001-1.030; P = 0.017). This association remained after adjusting for hypertension, diabetes, smoking status, and lipid profiles (OR = 1.007; 95% CI 1.001-1.014; P = 0.042). In conclusion, an increased pericardial fat volume was an independent risk factor for stenotic CAD and could be helpful in assessing subclinical CADs.This work was supported by the IT R&D program of MIC/IITA (2006-S075-01) for development of early diagnostic system for Metabolic Syndrome based on nanosensor integrated-network computing, the Korean Endocrine Society (2006) and the Korean Society of Lipidology and Atherosclerosis (2009)