Real world impact of added FFR-CT to coronary CT angiography on clinical decision-making and patient prognosis - IMPACT FFR study.

Objectives: The addition of CT-derived fractional flow reserve (FFR-CT) increases the diagnostic accuracy of coronary CT angiography (CCTA). We assessed the impact of FFR-CT in routine clinical practice on clinical decision-making and patient prognosis in patients suspected of stable coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: This retrospective, single-center study compared a cohort that received CCTA with FFR-CT to a historical cohort that received CCTA before FFR-CT was available.

Rationale and design of the iCORONARY trial: improving the cost-effectiveness of coronary artery disease diagnosis.

Background: In patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD), revascularisation decisions are based mainly on the visual grading of the severity of coronary stenosis on invasive coronary angiography (ICA). However, invasive fractional flow reserve (FFR) is the current standard to determine the haemodynamic significance of coronary stenosis. Non-invasive and less-invasive imaging techniques such as computed-tomography-derived FFR (FFR-CT) and angiography-derived FFR (QFR) combine both anatomical and functional information in complex algorithms to calculate FFR.

Impact of alcohol septal ablation on left anterior descending coronary artery blood flow in hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of alcohol septal ablation (ASA) on coronary blood flow in symptomatic hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) using cardiac MR (CMR) coronary flow measurements. Background CMR flow mapping enables quantification of coronary blood flow in a noninvasive way. Both left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) gradient reduction and myocardial scarring after ASA are expected to influence left anterior descending (LAD) coronary blood flow.

Determinants of coronary microvascular dysfunction in symptomatic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Impaired hyperemic myocardial blood flow (MBF) in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), despite normal epicardial coronary arteries, results in microvascular dysfunction. The aim of the present study was to determine the relative contribution of extravascular compressive forces to microvascular dysfunction in HCM. Eighteen patients with symptomatic HCM and normal coronary arteries and 10 age-matched healthy volunteers were studied with PET to quantify resting and hyperemic MBF at a subendocardial and subepicardial level.

Functional outcome after revascularization in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease: a quantitative late gadolinium enhancement CMR study evaluating transmural scar extent, wall thickness and periprocedural necrosis.

In patients with chronic ischemic myocardial dysfunction, late gadolinium enhancement CMR (LGE-CMR) accurately depicts the regional extent of fibrosis and predicts functional recovery after revascularization. We hypothesized that the predictive accuracy of LGE-CMR could be optimized by not only taking into account the transmural extent of hyperenhancement but also the amount of residual, non-enhanced viable myocardium, and procedure related necrosis. We studied 45 patients with chronic ischemic left ventricular dysfunction, who underwent cine and LGE-CMR 1 month before and 3 months after surgical or percutaneous revascularization.