Fat deposition in the left ventricle: descriptive and observacional study in autopsy

BACKGROUND: The human heart contains varying amounts of fat deposits. Cardiac physiological fat occurs predominantly in the right ventricle (RV). The discovery and characterization of adipose tissue along the left ventricle (LV) has been rarely reported. This study aimed to determine the occurrence of fatty deposits in epicardial, pericoronay and myocardial compartments in the LV, and to trace the epidemiological profile and clinical associations with this finding. METHODS: Epidemiological and morphological data and heart samples were collected from corpses submitted to necropsy. Cardiac samples were fixed, embedded in paraffin and subjected to hematoxylin-eosin for microscopic study. RESULTS: The research was based on 40 samples of cardiac tissue, 21 male cadavers and 19 female ones with mean age of 68.2 years. 52.2% of the subjects had a history of smoking, 20% of them had alcohol consumption and 43.59% showed cardiac cause as a cause of death (acute myocardial infarction – AMI – was the most frequent immediate cause of death). 82.5% of the subjects showed atherosclerotic disease in the ascending aorta (ADAA). The fat deposition in the left ventricule (FDLV) was observed in 95% of cases. Epicardial fat (EF) and pericoronary adipose tissue (PAT) are the most frequent topographies in fat accumulation in the left heart chamber and the EF deposition is associated with myocardial adiposity (MA) (Fisher test [FT] 0.019; odds ratio [OR] 0.097 [95% CI 0.033 to 0.284]; p < 0.05). FDLV was associated with alcoholism (FT 0.04, OR 0.161 [95% CI 0.072 to 0.36]; p < 0.05); smoking (FT 0.508; OR 0581 [95% CI 0.431 to 0.73]; p < 0.05), presence of Frank’s sign (FT 0.502; OR 0.567 [95% CI 0.414 to 0.775]; p < 0.05); ADAA (0.774 OR [95% CI 0.6405 to 0.936]; p < 0.05); AMI (OR 0.730 [95% CI 0.600 to 0.888]; p < 0.05) and macroscopic finding of cardiac hypertrophy (OR 0.700 [95% CI 0.525 to 0.933]; p < 0.05). FDLV is related with the thickness of the abdominal fat cushion. CONCLUSIONS: FDLV is common and associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors. Cardiac adiposity cannot be considered a random autopsy finding, requiring diagnostic research and more studies to investigate the clinical implications.