title: CT features of myocardial fat and correlation with clinical background in patients without cardiac disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the frequency and common locations of myocardial fat and its associated factors using coronary CT angiography (CCTA) in patients without cardiac disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using CCTA findings for 298 consecutive patients without cardiac disease, we categorized the myocardium into nine locations, scored fat in those locations, and correlated the fat score with the thickness of the right ventricular (RV) free wall and factors including gender, age, and body mass index (BMI) as well as history of diabetes mellitus, hypertension (HT), and dyslipidemia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed myocardial fat in 68.5 % of patients, most commonly in the RV outflow tract (RVOT, 64.1 %), followed by the base (42.3 %) and middle (28.9 %) of the RV free wall, RV trabeculations (22.5 %), and the left ventricular apex (11.4 %). The RV free wall thickened significantly with increasing fat score. Dependent variables for myocardial fat were female gender (P < 0.0001), age ≥65 years (P = 0.0043), BMI ≥25 (P = 0.0050), and HT (P = 0.0139).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Myocardial fat is a common finding on CCTA in patients without cardiac disease, is often observed in the RVOT, and is more frequent in female patients, those older than 65 years, those with BMI ≥25, and those with HT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Saitama Medical University International Medical Center, 1397-1 Yamane, Hidaka, Saitama, 350-1298, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsuo
authors.forename: Fumiko
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Takatomo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: Kaiji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Waka
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Mizukoshi
authors.forename: Eito
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kozawa
authors.forename: Fumikazu
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sakai
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D055424:Cardiac-Gated Imaging Techniques; D003287:Contrast Media; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D050171:Dyslipidemias / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications; D007472:Iohexol; D007479:Iopamidol; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009206:Myocardium; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D007472:Iohexol; D007479:Iopamidol