A B S T R A C T Objective: To investigate the relationship between
gastric wall fat halo sign and potentially associated cardiovascular
disease (CVD) in thoracic computed tomography (CT). Material and
Methods: Between October 2018 and June 2019, 62 patients with gastric
wall fat halo sign and 97 controls were prospectively evaluated. Patient
height, weight, body mass index (BMI), sex, age, ascending aorta,
descending aorta, main pulmonary artery, right and left pulmonary
artery, long and short cardiac axis and maximum transverse thorax
diameters; and ascending, arcus, descending aorta and coronary artery
calcium scores were recorded for the two groups. Results: No significant
differences were found in sex, age, height, body weight or BMI between
the two groups (p > 0.125). Patients with gastric wall fat
halo sign had significantly larger diameters of the ascending aorta, the
descending aorta, the main pulmonary artery, the right and left
pulmonary arteries, and the short and long cardiac axes and a higher
cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) than the control group (p < 0.001).
Additionally, the calcium scores of the ascending, arcus, and descending
aortas and the coronary arteries were significantly higher detected in
patients group (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The gastric wall fat
halo is the result of excessive fat accumulation and can be observed in
overweight people, especially those with increased visceral fat tissue.
Additionally, patients with a gastric wall fat halo have a higher
cardiovascular risk because of increased vascular diameters, CTR, heart
sizes and calcium scores.