Novel Imaging Biomarker to Help Predict Coronary Inflammation
Researchers at Cleveland Clinic, University of Oxford and University of Erlangen have identified a novel imaging biomarker, which has been found to be able to predict all-cause and cardiac mortality by measuring inflammation of fatty tissue surrounding the coronary arteries.
Coronary artery inflammation inhibits fatty tissue formation surrounding the blood vessels, known as perivascular fat. Researchers developed the perivascular fat attenuation index (FAI) as an imaging biomarker to quantify inflammation-induced changes in perivascular fat. FAI captures coronary inflammation by mapping the changes in perivascular fat on coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA), enabling early detection of coronary inflammation.
“This is an exciting new technology which has the potential for providing a simple, non-invasive answer to detect patients at risk for future fatal heart attacks, said co-first author Milind Desai, M.D., Cleveland Clinic cardiologist. “More importantly, it highlights the incredible value of cross-continent collaboration to validate the findings in different populations.”
