Abstract

Background: Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) has been related to increased cardiovascular risk in chronic kidney disease
patients. However, prospective studies of EAT thickness in prediction of cardiovascular events in CKD patients are lacking.
Moreover, there are inconsistencies in literature regarding cut-off of EAT thickness, standard technique and phase of
measurement. Objectives: This study was undertaken to compare systolic and diastolic EAT thickness in prediction of
CV events in non-dialysis dependent CKD patients. Methods: In this prospective, observational study, transthoracic echocardiography
(TTE) was used to assess systolic and diastolic EAT thickness in 210 consecutive non-dialysis dependent
CKD patients and followed up for at least one year for pre-defined end-points. Results: The mean systolic and diastolic
EAT thickness in the CKD group (5.6±1.2mm and 4.2±1.1mm) was significantly higher than the non-CKD participants
(4.3±1.0mm and 3.1±1.1mm), both P

Key words: Coronary artery disease, CV risk, Echocardiography, Epicardial fat, Reproducibility