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Systematic Review

Vol. 10 No. 1 (2007)

Echocardiographic Assessment of Epicardial Adipose Tissue - A Marker of Visceral Adiposity

  • Navneet Singh
  • Harleen Singh
  • Harleen K Khanijoun
  • Gianluca Iacobellis
DOI
https://doi.org/10.26443/mjm.v10i1.469
Submitted
November 1, 2020
Published
2020-12-01

Abstract

Visceral adipose tissue predicts an unfavorable cardiovascular and metabolic risk profile in humans. Existing methods to assess visceral adipose tissue have been limited. Thus, echocardiographic assessment of epicardial adipose tissue as a marker of visceral adiposity was suggested. The technique has been shown to be a very reliable method and an excellent measure of visceral adiposity. In this article, epicardial adipose tissue's localization on the heart, function, method of assessment and reliability as a marker of visceral adiposity is briefly reviewed. Areas of the technique requiring further study are identified.

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