Cho DH, et al. - In this analysis of the Seoul Metabolic Syndrome cohort, including subjects (men, n = 140; 56.1 ± 4.7 years) who underwent conventional echocardiography and two-dimensional speckle tracking, researchers assessed gender-associated variations in the links among epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), secretome profile, and myocardial function of subjects with suspected metabolic syndrome. They observed that only middle-aged men with suspected metabolic syndrome showed the association of EAT with inflammation represented by high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level, left ventricular mass, and subclinical myocardial dysfunction. This finding implied that myocardial remodeling and dysfunction in middle-aged subjects are triggered by the inflammatory activity of EAT, but it was reduced in women.