Abstract 10040: Impact of Periaortic Adipose Tissue Detected by Computed Tomography on Aortic Vulnerable Plaques Identified by Non-Obstructive General Angioscopy

Abstract

Introduction: Periaortic adipose tissue (PAAT) is related to the development of cardiovascular disease. However, the relationship between periaortic adipose tissue (PAAT) and aortic plaque instability has not been elucidated. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that PAAT would be associated with aortic vulnerable plaques derived non-obstructive general angioscopy (NOGA) in patients with cardiovascular disease. Methods: We investigated 117 patients who underwent NOGA of the aorta and CT. PAAT volume was measured using the volume-rendering method by extracting the area from -30 to -190 HU within the thoracic aorta. PAAT volume index (PAAT-I) was defined as PAAT volume divided by the body surface area. We evaluated the number of vulnerable plaques including ruptured plaques, ulcerations, thrombi, intense yellow plaques by NOGA in the whole aorta. All patients were divided into the median value of PAAT-I (16.9 [13.0 - 21.6] ml/m2) Results: The high PAAT-I patients had significantly greater number of vulnerable plaques in the thoracic aorta than the low PAAT-I patients (2 [1-4] vs 1 [0-3], p<0.05). The PAAT-I had a correlation with the number of vulnerable plaques in the thoracic and whole aorta (r=0.44, p<0.001, r=0.35, p<0.01, respectively) Conclusions: PAAT in the thoracic aorta was related to the number of NOGA derived-aortic vulnerable plaques in patients with cardiovascular disease. PAAT may play an important role in the development of aortic plaque instability.