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Updated: Jun 4, 2026
Evaluation of Left Ventricular Structure and Function using 3D Echocardiography
Published on: October 28, 2020
Single-slice epicardial fat area measurement: do we need to measure the total epicardial fat volume?
Noriko Oyama1, Daisuke Goto, Yoichi M Ito
1Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Hokkaido University Hospital, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Japan. norikooyama@med.hokudai.ac.jp
Purpose:
The aim of this study was to assess a method for measuring epicardial fat volume (EFV) by means of a single-slice area measurement. We investigated the relation between a single-slice fat area measurement and total EFV.
Methods And Methods:
A series of 72 consecutive patients (ages 65 ± 11 years; 36 men) who had undergone cardiac computed tomography (CT) on a 64-slice multidetector scanner with prospective electrocardiographic triggering were retrospectively reviewed. Pixels in the pericardium with a density range from -230 to -30 Hounsfield units were considered fat, giving the per-slice epicardial fat area (EFA). The EFV was estimated by the summation of EFAs multiplied by the slice thickness. We investigated the relation between total EFV and each EFA.
Results:
EFAs measured at several anatomical landmarks-right pulmonary artery, origins of the left main coronary artery, right coronary artery, coronary sinus-all correlated with the EFV (r = 0.77-0.92). The EFA at the LMCA level was highly reproducible and showed an excellent correlation with the EFV (r = 0.92).
Conclusion:
The EFA is significantly correlated with the EFV. The EFA is a simple, quick method for representing the time-consuming EFV, which has been used as a predictive indicator of cardiovascular diseases.