Relationship Between Epicardial Adipose Tissue Thickness and Sedentary Time, Physical Activity Level, and Physical Performance in Patients With Hypertension

Epicardial adipose tissue is associated with the development of cardiovascular disease and its increase is positively correlated with blood pressure elevation in hypertensive individuals. In the literature, being physically active has been shown to be effective in the treatment of hypertension and reduction of epicardial adipose tissue thickness. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between epicardial adipose tissue thickness and sedentary time, physical activity level and physical performance in patients with hypertension. The study included 40 patients with hypertension. The physical and demographic characteristics of the participants were collected using a sociodemographic form. Waist/hip circumference was measured with tape measure and epicardial adipose tissue thickness with echocardiography device. Physical activity levels and sedentary time were recorded via IPAQ-7. Physical performance was determined using the 30-s sit-and-stand test. There is no previous study in the literature evaluating the relationship between epicardial adipose tissue thickness and sedentary time and physical activity levels in hypertensive patients. With this study, we aim to contribute to the literature by filling this deficiency.