Role of thoracic periaortic adipose tissue in major adverse cardiovascular events in heart failure

Abstract

Abstract Objecitve: Adipose tissue is defined as a complex endocrine organ that exerts various regulatory functions and has effects on the cardiovascular system. Previous studies have shown that epicardial adipose tissue is associated with heart failure (HF) and cardiovascular outcome. The effect of thoracic periaortic fat tissue (PFT) on this issue is unknown. We aimed to investigate the relationship between PFT and long-term clinical outcomes in patients with HF. Materials and Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 71 patients with HF and 45 patients without HF. We calculated their PFT volumes by examining multi-detector computed tomography images with special software. Adverse cardiac events occurring within one year were recorded. Results: Adverse cardiac events were seen in 23 of the patients during follow-up. Only one of the events was in the healthy group. In the HF group, there was a statistically significant PFT volume compared to the healthy group (54.5 (41.2-66.5) vs. 42.1 (29.9-52.7), p= 0.014). Logistic regression analysis showed that PFT was an independent predictor of MACE (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.96; 95% CI: 0.94-0.99; p = 0.027). Conclusion: The study has shown for the first time in the literature that PFT volume can be a useful parameter in predicting adverse cardiac events in the follow-up of patients with HF.