The relationship of pericoronary adipose tissue with coronary artery disease risk factors and atherosclerotic plaques

Coronary artery disease (CAD) has always been an up-to-date research topic due to its high mortality and morbidity and its prevalence in societies. New ones are constantly being added to the known risk factors for CAD. Hormones and cytokines secreted from epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) have also been shown to be effective on the development of CAD. Pericoronary adipose tissue (PCAT) is the name given to the parts of the EAT adjacent to the coronary arteries. The aim of our study is to investigate the relationship between PCAT thickness and volume values, CAD risk factors and coronary artery stenosis. A total of 100 cases aged between 45 and 70 (mean: 59.1) were included in our study. CAD risk factors (age, gender, weight, family history, smoking, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, total cholesterol value, LDL value) of each case were determined. Coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) images of each case were evaluated. Coronary artery atherosclerotic plaques were classified according to their percentage of stenosis. PCAT measurements were made around the right coronary artery (RCA) and left anterior descending artery (LAD). The correlations between the mean values of RCA PCAT thickness, RCA PCAT volume, LAD PCAT thickness, LAD PCAT volume and percentages of stenosis were found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). In addition, a moderately strong positive correlation was found between the thickness and volume values of PCAT and the stenosis levels, and it was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). Measurements made from PCAT and CAD risk factors were also compared separately. A statistically significant relationship was found between PCAT and hypertension and overweight. We believe that our study will make an important contribution to the use of PCAT as a risk factor for CAD and as an indicator for determining the degree of stenosis.