Wednesday, December 4 | 3:10 p.m.-3:20 p.m. | W7-SSCA08-2 | Room E353C
Measuring epicardial fat volume on CT imaging helps predict the presence of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) and the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), according to research to be presented Wednesday afternoon.
A group led by presenter Niraj Nirmal Pandey, MD, of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi found epicardial fat volume is an independent predictor of obstructive CAD and MACE – even in patients with a coronary artery calcium (CAC) score of zero.
"Addition of epicardial fat volume to traditional cardiovascular risk factors offers a more accurate prediction of obstructive CAD and MACE, which may help to improve the initial management of patients with atypical chest pain," Pandey's team noted in an abstract about their work.
The investigators conducted a study that included 477 patients with CAC scores of zero. Of these, obstructive coronary artery disease was present in 51 patients (10.7%).
They found that patients with obstructive CAD and those who experienced MACE had high epicardial fat volumes (158.2 mL and 165.2 mL, respectively)
The study findings suggest that a zero CACS score "does not exclude obstructive CAD nor the occurrence of MACE," the group noted, and that epicardial fat volume is an "independent predictor of obstructive CAD and MACE in patients with 'zero' CACS." Be sure to attend this scientific session to find out more.