Copyright
©2013 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
From the epicardial adipose tissue to vulnerable coronary plaques
Mauro Echavarría-Pinto, Fernando Alfonso, Interventional Cardiology, Cardiovascular Institute, Hospital Clinico San Carlos, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Lorenzo Hernando, Cardiology Department, Fundación Alcorcón, 28922 Madrid, Spain
Author contributions: All authors were involved in designing the research, performing the research, analyzing the data and writing the paper.
Correspondence to: Fernando Alfonso, MD, PhD, Interventional Cardiology, Cardiovascular Institute, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Plaza Cristo Rey, 28040 Madrid, Spain. falf@hotmail.com
Telephone: +34-91-3303283 Fax: +34-91-3303289
Received: February 13, 2013
Revised: March 21, 2013
Accepted: April 10, 2013
Published online: April 26, 2013
Processing time: 72 Days and 19.6 Hours
Revised: March 21, 2013
Accepted: April 10, 2013
Published online: April 26, 2013
Processing time: 72 Days and 19.6 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Thin cap fibroatheromas (TCFAs) are the most common underlying substrate in patients suffering acute coronary thrombotic events. Recently, an interesting association between TCFAs and a particular depot of visceral fat called epicardial adipose tissue has been suggested. In this study, we review some basic and clinical aspects of behind this interesting association as well as the value of optical coherence tomography in the diagnosis of TCFAs.