The relation between heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and epicardial fat tissue

Background: Epicardial fat tissue (EFT) is a special form of visceral fat surrounding the heart. It is associated with heart and metabolic diseases. EFT is associated with HFPEF risk factors like obesity, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, diabetes. So in this study we searched the importance of EFT as a predictor of HFPEF. Material and methods: We chose the patients between 50-80 ages who were admitted to Dicle University Medicine Faculty Heart Hospital between November 2013 and August 2014. Heart failure gruop was 30 patients who were admitted to cardiac intensive care unit, control group was 30 patients who were admitted to cardiology policlinics. We care about patients demografic and clinical features to be similar. HF patients diagnosed according to European Cardiology Society 2012 Heart failure guideline. EFT was measured with transthorasic parasternal long axis with Echocardiography device (GE Vivid S6). We compare EFT between the two groups. Results: Epicardial fat tissue in patients with HFPEF was increased compared to the control group (9.21 ± 0.82 mm and 7.13 ± 1.39 mm p<0.001). Echocardiographic findings associated with LV hypertrophy; IVS (13.03±0.57 mm and 12.11±2.22 mm p=0.013), LVMI (131.13 ± 18.00 gr/m2 and 117.90 ± 20.30 gr/m2 p=0.010) and findings associated with LV diastolic disfunction were LAVI (60.71 ± 21.53 ml/ m2 and 44.92 ± 9.93 ml/ m2 p<0.001) and E/é (13.87±3.88 and 10.12±2.44 p<0.001) were increased in HFPEF compared with control group. BMI as an indicator of obesity was not significant (p=0.097), but waist circumference as an indicator of viceral obesity was significant (p<0.001). Results of logistic regresion analyses of EFT, age, LAVI, LVMI, waist circumference, E/é which were significant in HF gruop; EFT was significant (p=0.012), waist circumference significance was borderline (p=0.045). Conclusions: Epicardial fat tissue was increased in HF group. We found EFT as a predictor in HFPEF. In HFPEF group increased EFT means we can use EFT as a biomarker of inflamation in the pathophysiology of the HFPEF.