Regional muscle-adipose distribution is different in patients with heart failure with preserved or reduced ejection fraction

Background Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) has been recognized to contribute inflammatory activity and atherosclerosis. On the other hand, it has been reported that the volume of EAT is lower in non-ischemic heart failure (HF) patients than healthy individuals. However, the difference in regional muscle-adipose distribution including EAT between HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and HF reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) has not been investigated. In addition, we investigated whether distribution of body composition contributed to exercise capacity. Methods The study included 105 non-ischemic HF patients diagnosed by cardiac catheterization between September 2017 and November 2019. Epicardial, abdominal and thigh muscle and adipose tissue volume were measured by computed tomography (CT), and exercise tolerance was evaluated by symptom-limited cardiopulmonary exercise test. Results Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the left ventricular ejection fraction, ≥40% as HFpEF (n=28) or Conclusion In patient with nonischemic HF, the pattern of regional adipose distribution may have important role in pathologically. HFpEF and HFrEF has different pattern despite similar body mass index. These differences may be related to impaired exercise tolerance in these 2 different types of HF. Correlation between EAT and AT, peak VO2 Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None