Pericardial adiposity versus body adiposity measured by BMI in the assessment of coronary atherosclerosis burden in patients with hypertension

Abstract

Objectives The link between obesity and hypertension with coronary atherosclerosis is complex. We aimed to assess the association of cardiac fat deposition measured by pericardial fat volume(PFV) using by multi-detector CT(MDCT) and general obesity measured by BMI with subclinical coronary atherosclerotic markers (coronary artery calcium score (CAC), coronary plaque and stenosis) in patients with hypertension and suspected coronary artery disease. Methods Among 496 patients presenting with chest pain who underwent 64-slice MDCT angiography to exclude occlusive coronary disease, 261 patients with hypertension (age: 57 ± 8 years, 45% males) enrolled in the present study. Results PFV showed a significant association with CAC(r = 0.2,P = .001),coronary stenosis severity(PFV median(IQR) 88(63–161) in patients with coronary stenosis .05). Conclusion PFV showed a significant independent association with coronary calcification and significant coronary stenosis in patients with hypertension rather than BMI.

Keywords

• hypertension
• coronary atherosclerosis
• bmi
• pericardial fat
• mdct