The Relationship between the Amount of Epicardial Adipose Tissue Measured on Echocardiography and Decreased Heart Rate Recovery in Exercise Stress Test in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome

Year 2020, , 139 - 144, 19.09.2020

Ferit Böyük Bülent Özdemir Sümeyye Güllülü

https://doi.org/10.5455/umj.20200709025530

Abstract

Introduction: In this study, the impact of the epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) thickness on the heart rate recovery (HRV) was investigated by comparing the HRV values in the second minute of the recovery phase of the exercise test applied to metabolic syndrome (MS) patients and the healthy control group.
Materials and Methods: A total of 78 people, 30 of them healthy control group and 48 of them diagnosed with MS for the first time were included in the study which was carried out in a Uludağ University’s Medical Faculty Hospital in Turkey. The study was designed prospectively. The EAT thickness measurement was performed and recorded for all individuals. All patients underwent a symptom-limited exercise test following the Bruce protocol. The relationship between known risk factors of coronary artery disease of the EAT thickness measured by echocardiography and decreased HRV index in the recovery phase in the exercise stress test was investigated.
Results: Metabolic syndrome group was found out to have a significantly thicker EAT thickness (p<0.01). Recovery 2nd-minute heart rate change was determined to be statistically different between the two groups (p<0.05). The triglyceride levels went up, so did the EAT thickness. Within the MS group, ones having an LDL>160 mg/dl level had a significantly thicker EAT than the ones with an LDL<160 level. The group with an HDL level<40 mg/dl had a significantly thicker EAT thickness. In the cases included in the study, the most important variable affecting the recovery 2nd-minute heart rate variation (HRV2) was determined to be the EAT (p<0.01).
Conclusion: The routine measurement of the EAT might be a good indicator of the coronary artery diseases before the apparent ischemic findings emerge, which is supported by the findings of the present study.

Key words: , heart rate recovery, metabolic syndrome, echocardiography, exercise stress test

Keywords

Epicardial fat, echocardiography, exercise stress test

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