Echocardiographic epicardial fat thickness is related to altered blood pressure responses to exercise stress testing

Figures & data

Table I. Demographic and biochemical variables.

	Group 1 (n = 32)	Group 2 (n = 48)	p-value
Age (years)	49 ± 7	50 ± 8	NS
Gender (% male)	52	72	NS
BMI (kg/m^2)	27 ± 1.1	26 ± 0.8	NS
Waist circumference (cm)	95 ± 10	91 ± 7	NS
Smoking (%)	87.5	60	NS
TG (mg/dl)	134 ± 10	130 ± 19	NS
LDL (mg/dl)	115 ± 12	110 ± 15	NS
HDL (mg/dl)	51 ± 6	45 ± 5	NS
Total cholesterol (mg/dl)	195 ± 10	185 ± 10	NS
FG (mg/dl)	98 ± 6	95 ± 8	NS
Hb (g/dl)	13.7 ± 0.5	13.9 ± 0.6	NS
Creatinine (mg/dl)	0.94 ± 0.14	0.90 ± 0.12	NS
HOMA-IR	1.8 ± 0.4	1.7 ± 0.2	NS

BMI, body mass index; TG, triglyceride; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; FG, fasting glucose; Hb, hemoglobin; HOMA-IR, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance; NS, not significant.

Table II. Comparison of exercise stress testing and echocardiographic parameters.

	Group 1 (n = 32)	Group 2 (n = 48)	p-value
LV end-diastolic diameter (cm)	5.2 ± 0.4	5.1 ± 0.3	NS
LV end-systolic diameter (cm)	3.0 ± 0.2	3.0 ± 0.3	NS
LA diameter (cm)	3.5 ± 0.2	3.4 ± 0.3	NS
EF (%)	65 ± 3	66 ± 4	NS
EFT (mm)	8.2 ± 1.1	5.1 ± 1.5	0.0001
LVM (g/m^2)	108 ± 11.7	102 ± 10.4	NS
Basal HR (beats/min)	81 ± 9	79 ± 5	NS
Maximum HR (beats/min)	162 ± 11	164 ± 7	NS
Basal SBP (mmHg)	119.4 ± 4	119.2 ± 4	NS
Basal DBP (mmHg)	75 ± 5	76 ± 5	NS
Peak SBP (mmHg)	205.8 ± 12	175 ± 16.8	0.0001
Peak DBP (mmHg)	85 ± 4	84 ± 4	NS
BPRI	0.92 ± 0.06	0.77 ± 0.09	0.0001
METS	10.8 ± 0.6	11.4 ± 0.8	NS

LV, left ventricular; LA, left atrium; EF, ejection fraction; EFT, epicardial fat thickness; LVM, left ventricular mass; HR, heart rate; SBP, systolic blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; BPRI, blood pressure recovery index; METS, metabolic equivalents.

Figure 1. Scatter plot of the relation between blood pressure recovery index (BPRI) and epicardial fat thickness (EFT).

Table III. Clinical and laboratory parameters according to epicardial fat thickness (EFT).

Variable	EFT <6.5 mm (n = 52)	EFT ≥6.5 mm (n = 28)	p-value
Age (years)	47.7 ± 7.3	54 ± 7.8	0.001
Gender (% male)	65	57	NS
Waist circumference (cm)	90.2 ± 10.7	96.5 ± 9.4	0.010
FG (mg/dl)	94 ± 8.2	97.4 ± 7.1	NS
Total cholesterol (mg/dl)	197.8 ± 18.3	204.9 ± 22.8	NS
LDL (mg/dl)	120.2 ± 16.5	121.8 ± 21.1	NS
HDL (mg/dl)	48.3 ± 4.5	51 ± 6.3	0.032
TG (mg/dl)	129.7 ± 17.9	132.4 ± 22.1	NS
Hb (g/dl)	13.8 ± 0.6	14 ± 0.7	NS
HOMA-IR	1.67 ± 0.18	1.79 ± 0.31	0.029
Peak SBP (mmHg)	169.4 ± 19.8	198.4 ± 15.3	0.0001
Basal HR (beats/min)	78.8 ± 5.8	81.7 ± 5.9	0.044
Maximum HR (beats/min)	166.4 ± 8	158.6 ± 6.6	0.0001
METS	12.1 ± 0.8	10.9 ± 0.4	0.0001
BPRI	0.74 ± 0.09	0.89 ± 0.07	0.0001

FG, fasting glucose; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; TG, triglyceride; Hb, hemoglobin; HOMA-IR, Homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance; SBP, systolic blood pressure; HR, heart rate; METS, metabolic equivalents; BPRI, blood pressure recovery index.