ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY-A JOURNAL OF CARDIOVASCULAR ULTRASOUND AND ALLIED TECHNIQUES, vol.33, no.6, pp.821-829, 2016 (SCI-Expanded)
BackgroundEvidence from previous studies indicates increased epicardial fat volume, measured using computerized tomography, is significantly associated with recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after catheter ablation. This association is most frequently linked to pro-inflammatory cytokine release from epicardial fat tissue. However, there is little data regarding the role of echocardiographically measured epicardial fat thickness (EFT) on catheter ablation outcomes. We aimed to investigate the predictive value of echocardiographically measured EFT on AF recurrence after cryoballoon-based catheter ablation.