Absolute Myocardial Blood Flow After Elective Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Evaluated on Phase-Contrast Cine Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Background: Few studies have documented changes in myocardial blood flow (MBF) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Phase-contrast cine cardiovascular MRI (PC-CCMR) of the coronary sinus (CS) is a promising approach to quantify MBF. The aim of this study was to quantify CS flow (CSF) on PC-CCMR as a measure of volumetric MBF before and after elective PCI.

Methods and results: We prospectively studied 34 patients with stable angina undergoing elective PCI for a single de novo lesion. Breath-hold PC-CCMR of CS was acquired to assess CSF and coronary flow reserve (CFR) at rest and during maximum hyperemia both before and after PCI (median, 3 days before PCI and 10 days after PCI, respectively). In total, hyperemic CSF increased significantly after PCI (before PCI, median, 2.3 mL/min/g [IQR, 1.5-3.2 mL/min/g] after PCI, 3.0 [1.8-3.7] mL/min/g), although 13 patients (38.2%) had a decrease despite successful PCI and fractional flow reserve (FFR) improvement. Global CFR also significantly increased from a median of 2.5 (IQR, 1.5-3.5) to 3.4 (IQR, 2.1-4.2), whereas 12 patients had decreased CFR after PCI. Pre-PCI hyperemic CSF was the only independent factor of change in CSF following PCI.

Conclusions: Serial PC-CCMR of CS as a measure of change in absolute MBF is feasible. Uncomplicated PCI does not necessarily increase hyperemic global MBF, despite regional FFR improvement.