The relationship between epicardial fat tissue thickness and transit time flow measurement values of coronary artery bypass grafts

Epicardial fat tissue, the true visceral adipose depot of the heart, has been associated with changes in both cardiac function and morphology. This study aimed to show the relationship between epicardial fat tissue (EFT) thickness and graft flow dynamics in arterial and venous grafts in coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG).

Patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography before surgery and epicardial fat thickness were evaluated. The patients were divided into two groups as EFT value <5.5 (group 1) mm and ≥5.5 (group 2) mm. One hundred eighty-one patients with a total of 434 grafts (162 arterial and 272 venous) underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. All grafts were examined by transit time flowmeter intraoperatively.

The mean epicardial fat tissue thickness values were 4.9±0.8 mm and 6.1±1.3 mm, respectively. Mean graft flow values of left internal mammary artery was 44.21±23.2 mL/min in group 1 and 39.65 ± 19.2 mL/min in group 2 (P=0.041). Similarly, mean graft flow values were higher in group 1 in all venous grafts regardless of which vessel bypass was performed. There is a significant negative correlation between epicardial fat thickness and mean graft flow.

Epicardial fat thickness measurement preoperatively might provide additional data for the faith of the graft.