Epicardial adipose tissue(EAT)is a type of fat tissue that is closely adjacent to the coronary arteries and myocardium,and it caused physiological and pathological changes to the body through the secretion of autocrine and paracrine active factors.EAT is regarded as a diagnostic marker and a potential therapeutic target for cardiovascular diseases,and it is of great significance to segment and quantify EAT.This article introduced the evolution of the EAT segmentation and quantification methods from the aspects of traditional imaging,atlas,and artificial intelligence.Furthermore,it reviewed the research progresses on automatically quantified EAT indices in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

Epicardial adipose tissue(EAT)is a type of fat tissue that is closely adjacent to the coronary arteries and myocardium,and it caused physiological and pathological changes to the body through the secretion of autocrine and paracrine active factors.EAT is regarded as a diagnostic marker and a potential therapeutic target for cardiovascular diseases,and it is of great significance to segment and quantify EAT.This article introduced the evolution of the EAT segmentation and quantification methods from the aspects of traditional imaging,atlas,and artificial intelligence.Furthermore,it reviewed the research progresses on automatically quantified EAT indices in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.