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Ventricular Epicardial Adipose Distribution on Human Hearts: 3-Dimensional Reconstructions and Quantitative Assessments

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Abstract

Epicardial interventions have forged new frontiers in cardiac ablation and device therapies. Healthy human hearts typically present with significant adipose tissue layers superficial to the ventricular myocardium and may hinder success or increase the complexities of epicardial interventions. We quantitatively evaluated the distribution of epicardial adipose tissue on the surface of human hearts and provided high-fidelity 3-dimensional reconstructions of these epicardial adipose tissue layers. The regional thickness of adipose tissues was analyzed at 51 anatomical reference points surrounding both ventricles and compared to specific patient demographics. Adipose deposits on the human hearts displayed characteristic patterns, with the thickest accumulations along the interventricular septa (anterior, 9.01 ± 0.50 mm; posterior, 6.78 ± 0.50 mm) and the right ventricular margin (7.44 ± 0.57 mm). We provide one of the most complete characterizations of human epicardial adipose location and relative layer thickness. These results are considered fundamental for an underlying anatomic understanding when performing procedures within the pericardial space.

Graphical Abstract

The relative thickness of epicardial adipose tissue was analyzed across 80 human hearts, with a subset displayed here as 3D reconstructions with thinner to thicker adipose regions indicated by a relative green-to-red color scale.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

CABG:

Coronary artery bypass graft

LV:

Left ventricle

LVAD:

Left ventricular assist device

RF:

Radiofrequency

RV:

Right ventricle

RVOT:

Right ventricular outflow tract

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Acknowledgements

We are extremely grateful to the individuals and their families who donated their bodies to science. We would like to thank Susan Sun and Traci Jones for their help with data collection and Monica Mahre for helping prepare this manuscript for publication.

Funding

This work was supported, in part, with a research contract from Medtronic (Minneapolis, MN) and the University of Minnesota’s Institute for Engineering in Medicine. The sponsors had no role in study design, data collection/analysis/interpretation, report writing, or decision to submit for publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Renee C. Brigham, Alexander R. Mattson & Paul A. Iaizzo

  2. Institute for Engineering in Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Renee C. Brigham, Alexander R. Mattson & Paul A. Iaizzo

  3. Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Alexander R. Mattson

Authors
  1. Renee C. Brigham
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  2. Alexander R. Mattson
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  3. Paul A. Iaizzo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paul A. Iaizzo.

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Human Subjects

LifeSource secured consent from donors or their families to use organs for research. The Institutional Review Board at the University of Minnesota granted exemption from ethics approval, being the heart specimen was considered waste tissue donated for medical research.

Animal Studies

No animal studies were carried out by the authors for this article.

Conflict of Interest

PA Iaizzo has a research contract and educational consulting role with Medtronic. AR Mattson is employed by Medtronic. RC Brigham has no disclosures to report.

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Associate Editor Nicola Smart oversaw the review of this article

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Brigham, R.C., Mattson, A.R. & Iaizzo, P.A. Ventricular Epicardial Adipose Distribution on Human Hearts: 3-Dimensional Reconstructions and Quantitative Assessments. J. of Cardiovasc. Trans. Res. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12265-024-10505-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12265-024-10505-x

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