Assessing Coronary Flow Reserve in the Left Circumflex Artery
Author Information
Author(s): Antonio Auriti, Christian Pristipino, Cinzia Cianfrocca, Antonino Granatelli, Vincenzo Guido, Francesco Pelliccia, Salvatore Greco, Giuseppe Richichi, Massimo Santini
Primary Institution: S. Filippo Neri Hospital, Rome, Italy
Hypothesis
Is transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (TTDE) reliable for assessing coronary flow reserve (CFR) in the left circumflex artery compared to the Doppler-wire method?
Conclusion
CFR of the left circumflex artery can be obtained noninvasively with TTDE.
Supporting Evidence
- CFR values ranged from 1.9 to 2.8 for Doppler-wire and from 2.0 to 3.0 for TTDE.
- The correlation between TTDE and Doppler-wire measurements was R = 0.85.
- Both techniques identified normal or abnormal CFR values in 80% of cases.
Takeaway
Doctors can use a special ultrasound to check blood flow in a heart artery without needing to do surgery.
Methodology
Five patients underwent both TTDE and Doppler-wire assessments of CFR on different days within 48 hours.
Potential Biases
Uncertainty about which specific vessel was recorded during TTDE.
Limitations
Only a small number of patients were studied, and larger series are necessary to substantiate the findings.
Participant Demographics
5 patients, average age 60 years, all males, 2 with previous inferior myocardial infarction.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.06
Statistical Significance
p=0.06
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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