How to measure and quantify epicardial fat ?

Epicardial fat is increasingly recognised to be a coronary risk factor. Methods to measure and quantify epicardial fat has not been standardised. Nomenclature issues There is some confusion in the literature regarding  the definition epicardial, pericardial , paracardiac fat etc. Epicardial fat is the true visceral fat located in proximity with myocardium .Epicardial fat shares the same blood supply as adjacent myocardium and also show  para-crine functions.This is the risky fat that is metabolically active. Paracardiac fat  is  the fat deposited outside the parietal  pericardium .It is also referred to as  thoracic fat .They carry less risk and behave more like somatic non visceral fat. Pericardial fat is a loose terminology .Many  use epicardial and pericardial fat interchangibly .It is to be realised , fat either deposit inside the visceral pericardium or outside the parietal pericardium. It almost never deposits  within the pericardial space. * Currently it is better to use  only two terms .Epicardial fat and  thoracic fat .Other terminology should be avoided. How to measure and quantify epicardial fat ? Distribution of fat over heart is not uniform .Though it appears a random distribution there app eras to be a pattern to it .It is largely loaded anterior surface of the heart, over the AV grooves, invariably hugging the coronary arteries and great vessel origins.Fat deposition posterior to heart occurs in gross obesity. There is no accurate way to quan...
Source: Dr.S.Venkatesan MD - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Cardiac MRI cardiac radiology end systolic epicardial fat Epicardial fat thickness how to measure epicardial fat ? para cardiac fat paracardiac fat pericardial fat pericardial fat vs pleural effusion Source Type: blogs