Simple Scan May Identify Patients at Risk For Serious Heart Problems: Study Finds - Video

The researchers, led by Frederick H. Epstein, PhD, of the University of Virginia;s Department of Biomedical Engineering, are seeking to use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess the composition of adipose tissue – fat – that surrounds the heart. The researchers have published their findings in the scientific journal Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Analyzing this tissue could let doctors identify patients at greatest risk for potentially deadly

cardiac problems and to predict how well those patients may respond to treatments.

Early testing of the technique has produced encouraging signs that the approach could be a powerful tool to improve patient care.

The UVA researchers would use MRI to assess the amount and composition of the fat. The imaging technology essentially lets them see inside the body without the need for surgery. By analyzing the amounts of saturated fatty acids, monosaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids – fats commonly associated with our diets – in the epicardial adipose tissue, doctors may be able to identify patients who could face heart problems even before symptoms appear. Identifying and correcting this problem has the potential to slow down the progression of heart disease.

By developing innovative imaging approaches, the scientists are now able to get the images they need in the span of a single breath hold.

The UVA team has already tested their technology in both the lab and in a limited number of human patients. They found that the fat around the heart in patients who were obese and had suffered heart attacks was comprised of an excessive amount of saturated fatty acids.

Reference: Echols JT, Wang S, Patel AR, Hogwood AC, Abbate A, Epstein FH. Fatty acid composition MRI of epicardial adipose tissue: Methods and detection of proinflammatory biomarkers in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients. Magn Reson Med. 2025; 93: 519-535. doi: 10.1002/mrm.30285