Abstract
Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is a measurable risk factor and marker of visceral adipose tissue. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is considered the gold standard technique to measure the adipose tissue, also because it does not require ionizing radiations. Dedicated cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging protocols have been developed to assess EAT volume. CMR provides a precise and noninvasive assessment of both EAT thickness and volume. As EAT is not equally distributed through the heart and when abundant may fill in folding spaces, steady-state free precession (SSFP) sequences of CMR should be used to more accurately measure the different and deeper EAT locations. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) is the gold standard technique to measure myocardial triglyceride content that is independently correlated with ultrasound measured EAT thickness.
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Iacobellis, G. (2020). Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Epicardial Adipose Tissue. In: Iacobellis, G. (eds) Epicardial Adipose Tissue. Contemporary Cardiology. Humana, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40570-0_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40570-0_7
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