Does Location of Epicardial Adipose Tissue Correspond to Endocardial High Dominant Frequency or Complex Fractionated Atrial Electrogram Sites During Atrial Fibrillation?

American Heart Association: July 6, 2012.

Background—Although increased epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) volume is known to be associated with increased prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF), the exact mechanisms are unclear. Therefore, we investigated whether EAT locations were associated with high dominant frequency (DF) sites and/or complicated fractionated atrial electrogram (CFAE) sites during AF.

Methods and Results—Three-dimensional reconstruction CT images depicting EAT volumes (obtained by 320-detector-row multislice CT) were merged with NavX-based DF and CFAE maps obtained during AF for 16 patients with paroxysmal AF (PAF) and 18 patients with persistent AF (PerAF). Agreement between locations of the EAT, especially EAT surrounding the left atrium (LA-EAT), and of high DF or CFAE sites was quantified. Read more