Incidence and severity of coronary artery disease in patients presenting with atrial fibrillation according to age.

<p>CAD = Coronary Artery Disease, PCI = Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.</p

Comparison of patients without CAD and patients with CAD.

<p>AF = Atrial Fibrillation; CAD = Coronary Artery Disease; EF = Ejection Fraction; SD = Standard Deviation;</p><p>*Significant “within-group” trend towards EF≥55%.</p

Significant linear trend among the FRS categories in % and the prevalence of CAD and PCI/CABG (p<0.0001).

<p>CABG = Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, CAD = Coronary Artery Disease, FRS = Framingham Risk Score, PCI = Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.</p

Overview of reported incidences of coronary artery disease in patients presenting with atrial fibrillation.

<p>AF = Atrial Fibrillation, CAD = Coronary Artery Disease, PCI = Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.</p

Relationship between EAT and atherosclerosis severity with regard to gender.

<p>The box plots demonstrate the relationship between EAT mass and atherosclerosis severity with regard to gender in patients with preserved LVF (LVF≥50%, Panel A) and reduced LVF (LVF<50%, Panel B). EAT mass in men is indicated by striped box plots, whereas EAT mass in women is shown by squared box plots. The p-values for the differences of the EAT mass between men and women are also indicated. EAT mass is given as mean ± standard deviation below the box plots, the line in the box plots indicates the median value of the data. In patients with preserved LVF≥50% (Panel A) and mild CAD (GSS≤10), EAT mass was comparable to healthy controls (white boxplot). With increasing atherosclerosis severity, EAT mass rose significantly in patients with moderate CAD (GSS>10−<40). However, in patients with severe atherosclerosis (GGS>40), EAT mass already started to decline. This EAT course was comparable in men and women. In patients with reduced LVF<50% (Panel B), EAT mass was significantly reduced compared to healthy controls (white boxplot) and showed a stepwise decline with increasing atherosclerosis severity in men and women. <i>Abbreviations: CAD: coronary artery disease, EAT: epicardial adipose tissue, LVF: left ventricular function, GSS: Gensini score.</i></p

Relationship between EAT and atherosclerosis severity in the whole study population.

<p>The box plots illustrate the EAT mass in healthy controls (white box plot), patients with mild CAD (GSS≤10, light gray box plot), moderate CAD (GSS>10−≤40, dark gray box plot) and severe CAD (GSS>40, black box plot). EAT mass is given as mean ± standard deviation below the box plots, the line in the box plots indicates the median value of the data. The p-values for the comparison of the groups are also indicated. The figure shows that the EAT mass was comparable between healthy controls and CAD patients with mild and moderate CAD. However, in patients with severe CAD, a significant decrease in EAT mass compared to patients with moderate CAD and healthy controls could be detected. <i>Abbreviations: CAD: coronary artery disease, EAT: epicardial adipose tissue, GSS: Gensini score.</i></p

Comparison of EAT in different stages of obesity with regard to LVF.

<p>The box plots compare the EAT mass in healthy controls (white box plot) and CAD patients with preserved LVF (LVF ≥50%, light gray striped box plot) and patients with reduced LVF (LVF <50%, dark gray striped box plots) in different stages of obesity as defined by BMI. The p-values for the differences between CAD patients with preserved and reduced LVF are given. The EAT mass is depicted below the box plots as mean ± standard deviation, the line in the box plots indicates the median value of the data. In patients with CAD the EAT mass increased with augmentation of body mass index. Comparing CAD patients with the same degree of obesity, the EAT mass was dependent on LVF, revealing a significantly lower increase in EAT in CAD patients with reduced LVF compared to those with preserved LVF. <i>Abbreviations: BMI: body mass index, CAD: coronary artery disease, EAT: epicardial adipose tissue, LVF: left ventricular function.</i></p

CMR characteristics: CAD patients and healthy controls.

<p>p^¥ = p-value comparing all CAD patients vs healthy controls,</p><p>p^¶ =  p-value comparing CAD patients with GSS≤10 vs CAD patients with GSS>10−≤40,</p><p>p*<b> = </b> p-value comparing CAD patients with GSS>10−≤40 vs CAD patients with GSS>40.</p><p><i>Abbreviations: EAT: epicardial adipose tissue</i>, <i>EDD: end-diastolic diameter</i>, <i>EDMI: end-diastolic mass index</i>, <i>EDVI: end-diastolic volume index</i>, <i>ESVI: end-systolic volume index, LV: left ventricular, LVF: left ventricular function</i>, <i>LVRI: left ventricular remodeling index</i>, <i>RAD: right atrial diameter</i>, <i>RV: right ventricular</i>, <i>RV-FS: right ventricular fractioning shortening</i>, <i>TAPSE: tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion.</i></p

Comparison of EAT mass in patients with the same atherosclerosis severity with regard to LV function.

<p>The box plots show the EAT mass in healthy controls (white box plot) and CAD patients. The EAT mass between CAD patients with preserved LVF (LVF≥50%, light gray box plots) and reduced LVF (LVF<50%, dark gray box plots) are compared in patients with moderate, mild and severe CAD and the p-values are given. EAT mass is displayed as mean ± standard deviation below the box plots, the line in the box plots indicates the median value of the data. The figure clearly outlines that patients with preserved LVF (light gray box plots) showed significantly more EAT mass compared to those with reduced LVF (dark gray box plots) regardless of the GSS. <i>Abbreviations: CAD: coronary artery disease, EAT: epicardial adipose tissue, LVF: left ventricular function, GSS: Gensini score.</i></p

Experimental setup of the impedance measurement system.

<p>Experimental setup of the impedance measurement system.</p