2025 American Academy of Neurology Abstract Website

Objective:

Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT)'s diagnostic value in cases of ischemic stroke hasn't been thoroughly analyzed . A meta-analysis of the literature assessing the correlation between EAT and stroke was conducted.

Background:

The potential use of as an imaging biomarker for cardiovascular disease risk stratification has attracted attention. Such a marker is epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), which is correlated with endothelial dysfunction and metabolic syndrome. A potential correlation of EAT with an elevated risk of stroke was demonstrated by recent research.

Design/Methods:

Pubmed, Google Scholar and Embase databases were searched from inception till 15 January 2024 for studies that measured EAT thickness of adult patients with ischemic stroke and matched healthy controls. Outcomes included standardarized mean difference (SMD) of EAT thickness between the stroke patients and the healthy controls. Furthermore, the statistical analyses were conducted to obtain adjusted odds ratios (OR) of the association of high EAT thickness with ischemic stroke. The results were combined using a fixed or random effect model as per heterogeneity among the included studies in Revman 5.1 software.

Results:

Ten studies comprising 1091 patients were included in this analysis. EAT thickness were significantly higher in ischemic stroke patients as compared to healthy controls [SMD: 2.16, Confidence Interval (CI): 1.66-2.65, I²=86%, P value < 0.00001](Figure 1). Moreover, the pooled ORs revealed the significant association of high EAT thickness with ischemic stroke [OR:2.97, CI=1.68-5.23, I²=99%, P value < 0.00001].

Conclusions:

The utility of EAT as an imaging biomarker for predicting stroke seems promising. EAT may represent readily available clinical markers useful in estimating risk of ischemic stroke.