INTERNAL MEDICINE, cilt.51, sa.8, ss.833-838, 2012 (SCI-Expanded)
Background Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), localized beneath the visceral pericardium, is a metabolically active endocrine and paracrine organ with possible interactions within the heart. Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is a clinical entity characterized with localized or diffuse dilatation, of the coronary arteries, with a diameter of greater than 1.5 times that of adjacent segments. Although the etiopathogenesis is not clearly understood, some studies have revealed that CAE may be a form of atherosclerosis that has greater inflammatory properties than atherosclerosis. The goal of this study was to investigate whether EAT and the level of C-reactive protein (CRP) are increased in patients with isolated CAE compared to normal subjects.