With increased ageing of the population, cardiovascular disease (CVD) has become the most important factor endangering human health worldwide. Although the treatment of CVD has become increasingly advanced, there are still a considerable number of patients with conditions that have not improved. According to the latest clinical guidelines of the European Cardiovascular Association, obesity has become an independent risk factor for CVD. Adipose tissue includes visceral adipose tissue and subcutaneous adipose tissue. Many previous studies have focused on subcutaneous adipose tissue, but visceral adipose tissue has been rarely studied. However, as a type of visceral adipose tissue, epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) has attracted the attention of researchers because of its unique anatomical and physiological characteristics. This review will systematically describe the physiological characteristics and evaluation methods of EAT and emphasize the important role and treatment measures of EAT in CVD.

Graphical Abstract

中文翻译：

---

心外膜脂肪组织：心血管疾病的潜在治疗靶点

随着人口老龄化的加剧，心血管疾病（CVD）已成为全球危害人类健康的最重要因素。尽管CVD的治疗已经日益先进，但仍有相当一部分患者的病情并未得到改善。根据欧洲心血管协会最新临床指南，肥胖已成为CVD的独立危险因素。脂肪组织包括内脏脂肪组织和皮下脂肪组织。以往的许多研究都集中在皮下脂肪组织上，但对内脏脂肪组织的研究却很少。然而，心外膜脂肪组织（EAT）作为内脏脂肪组织的一种，因其独特的解剖和生理特征而引起了研究人员的关注。本文将系统阐述EAT的生理特点和评价方法，强调EAT在CVD中的重要作用和治疗措施。

图形概要