Epicardial Adipose Tissue Thickness PredIcts Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease in Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients

Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is a visceral adipose tissue that surrounds the heart and the coronary arteries. It is metabolically active, secreting pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators and cytokines. With increasing EAT volume, inflammatory activity increasing, which suggests that EAT may locally influence atherosclerosis development in the coronary artery tree. The amount of EAT is associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors as well as presence and progression of subclinical atherosclerosis. Likewise, EAT volume is increased in patient with prevalent and incident coronary artery disease manifestation. In the setting of acute coronary syndrome, EAT was found to be associated with the TIMI risk score and Syntax II score. While CT imaging of the heart is the gold standard for EAT quantification, transthoracic echocardiography allows for a quick and reliable assessment of EAT thickness, as has been used in research studies and may qualify for routine EAT assessment in clinical routine.However, currently data on how quantification of EAT in clinical routine may impact patient management is lacking. We aim to investigate, whether quantification of EAT thickness via transthoracic echocardiography enables improved risk stratification in patients presenting with acute chest pain to the emergency department.