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Background Physician visual assessment (PVA) in invasive coronary angiography (ICA) is the current clinical method to determine stenosis severity and guide percutaneous coronary intervention. This study sought to evaluate the effect of sex differences in assessing coronary stenosis severity between PVA and quantitative coronary angiography (QCA). Methods 209 patients with coronary artery disease (288 coronary lesions) underwent ICA and fractional flow reserve (FFR). ICA image processing including PVA and QCA was used to quantify diameter stenosis (DS). The difference of DS (ΔDS) between PVA and QCA was defined as DSPVA-DSQCA. DS ≥50% was considered anatomically obstructive. FFR ≤0.8 was defined as myocardial ischemia. Results Mean ± SD age was 63 ± 9 years. There were no significant differences in DSPVA (61.1 ± 16.3% vs 60.1 ± 18.9%) and DSQCA (53.1 ± 12.1% vs 55.4 ± 14.3%) between females and males. However, ΔDS between PVA and QCA was higher in females (8.0 ± 10.9%) than in males (4.7 ± 10.9%) (P = 0.03). Thirty-four of 72 vessels (47.2%) in female patients and 75 of 216 vessels (34.7%) in male patients were classified differently by at least one grade using PVA compared to QCA assessment. DSPVA and DSQCA were negatively correlated with FFR in females (rPVA = −0.397, rQCA = −0.448) with an even stronger negative correlation in males (rPVA = −0.607, rQCA = −0.607). ROC analysis demonstrated that DSQCA myocardial ischemia (FFR ≤ 0.80) discrimination capability was superior to DSPVA in both sexes (P Conclusions A systematic bias was found in PVA (QCA reference) for overestimating severity of coronary artery disease in females compared to males.

BACKGROUND This study sought to assess target lesion failure (TLF) and clinically driven target lesion revascularization (CD-TLR) through 1 year following second-generation drug-eluting magnesium scaffold (Magmaris) implantation using a dedicated technique (so-called "4 P's" strategy). METHODS AND RESULTS The 4 P's strategy stands for: correct patient selection, proper scaffold sizing, pre-dilatation (

The present study investigated the relationships between physiological indices and increased coronary flow during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using a novel index of "anticipated maximum flow" [AMF; theoretical coronary flow of fractional flow reserve (FFR) = 1]. FFR-guided PCI aims to increase coronary flow, whereas recent studies have reported that PCI does not necessarily increase coronary flow despite improvement in FFR.This retrospective analysis was performed in 71 functionally significant lesions treated with elective PCI. AMF obtained by hyperemic average peak coronary flow velocity (h-APV) divided by FFR would not change after PCI given the constant microvascular resistance, which is the assumption of FFR as a surrogate of coronary flow. We evaluated the relationship between AMF and coronary flow during PCI.Post-PCI AMF was significantly different from pre-PCI AMF (p = 0.022), which impacted discordance between FFR improvement and change in coronary flow. Coronary flow increase50% was associated with smaller minimum lumen diameter (p = 0.010), greater diameter stenosis (p = 0.003), lower pre-PCI FFR (p0.001), lower pre-PCI coronary flow reserve (p = 0.001), higher pre-PCI hyperemic stenosis resistance (p0.001), lower pre-PCI h-APV (p = 0.001), and lower pre-PCI AMF (p = 0.031). Pre-PCI AMF provided significant incremental predictive capability for coronary flow increase50% when added to the clinical model including pre-PCI FFR.Pre-PCI AMF provided incremental ability to predict increased coronary flow after PCI and impacted the discordance between FFR improvement and increased coronary flow.

OBJECTIVES To determine how measurements of the internal carotid artery (ICA) cross-sectional area will differ systematically when obtained by grayscale, color Doppler, and power Doppler imaging. METHODS A total of 451 patients had greater than 40% diameter stenosis in at least a single ICA. Anteroposterior and transverse luminal diameters were measured in 609 arteries on grayscale, color, and power Doppler transverse images of the carotid bulb and proximal and distal ICAs. Cross-sectional areas were calculated and compared by a repeated-measures analysis of variance model to assess for significant differences. RESULTS Mean ICA cross-sectional areas ± SDs as measured by grayscale, power Doppler, and color Doppler imaging were 122 ± 81, 122 ± 79, and 125 ± 79 mm2 , respectively. The mean ICA area estimated by color Doppler imaging was significantly greater than that estimated by power Doppler imaging (P

Introduction: The performances of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) were used to establish an efficient as well as non-invasive clinical technique for the diagnosis of extra-cranial internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis. Materials and methods: Thirty-six successive patients (11 women and 25 men, mean age: 65.0 ± 9.2, range: 43–78 years) with internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis were tested by CEUS and DSA. These tests were carried out by means of Hitachi Preirus ultrasound machine for CEUS and Allura Xper FD20 system (Philips Medical Systems, Nederland B.V.) for DSA. 1.2 ml Son- oVue (Bracco, Switzerland) was used a s contrast agent. Results: The results clearly indicated that there were no noteworthy variations among the distributions recorded by CEUS as well as DSA for the four tested groups. The percentage of diameter stenosis calculated by CEUS was clearly in accordance with the DSA images. CEUS showed accurate results with good specificity and sensitivity at 50%, 70%, and 100%. Also, CEUS per- formance was relatively better than DSA in the diagnosis of ICA and suitability of CEA. Conclusion: CEUS proved to be a precise non-invasive testing method for the diagnosis of carotid artery stenosis which is more feasible and well-tolerated in patients with various stages of carotid stenosis. Keywords: Carotid artery stenosis; CEUS; contrast-enhanced ultrasound; digital subtraction angiography.

Endothelial erosion of atherosclerotic plaques is the underlying cause of approximately 30% of acute coronary syndromes (ACS). As the vascular endothelium is profoundly affected by the haemodynamic environment to which it is exposed, we employed computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis of the luminal geometry from 17 patients with optical coherence tomography (OCT)-defined plaque erosion, to determine the flow environment permissive for plaque erosion. Our results demonstrate that 15 of the 17 cases analysed occurred on stenotic plaques with median 31% diameter stenosis (interquartile range 28–52%), where all but one of the adherent thrombi located proximal to, or within the region of maximum stenosis. Consequently, all flow metrics related to elevated flow were significantly increased (time averaged wall shear stress, maximum wall shear stress, time averaged wall shear stress gradient) with a reduction in relative residence time, compared to a non-diseased reference segment. We also identified two cases that did not exhibit an elevation of flow, but occurred in a region exposed to elevated oscillatory flow. Our study demonstrates that the majority of OCT-defined erosions occur where the endothelium is exposed to elevated flow, a haemodynamic environment known to evoke a distinctive phenotypic response in endothelial cells.

Background: Visual estimation (VE) of coronary stenoses is the first step during invasive coronary angiography. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of VE together with invasive functional assessment (IFA) in defining the functional significance (FS) of coronary stenoses based on the opinion of multiple operators. Methods: Fourteen independent operators visually evaluated 133 coronary lesions which had a previous FFR measurement, indicating the degree of stenosis (DS), FS and IFA intention. We determined the accuracy of FS prediction using several scenarios combining individual and group decision, considering IFA as deemed necessary by the operator or only in intermediate lesions. Results: The accuracy of VE in predicting FS was largely variable between operators (average 66.1%); it improved significantly when IFA was used either as per operator’s opinion (86.3%; p < 0.0001) or only in intermediate DS (82.9; p < 0.0001). There was no significant difference between using IFA per observer’s opinion or only in intermediate DS lesions (p = 0.166). The poorest accuracy of VE for FS was obtained in intermediate DS lesions (59.1%). Conclusions: There are significant inter-observer differences in reporting the degree of DS, while the accuracy of VE prediction of FS is also largely dependent on the operator, and the worst performance is obtained in the evaluation of intermediate DS.

espanolIntroduccion y objetivos: La estrategia de tratamiento percutaneo de los pacientes con enfermedad multivaso y oclusion total cronica (OTC) no esta bien definida. La importancia funcional de las lesiones localizadas en arterias donantes de colaterales no se ha abordado por completo. Nuestro objetivo fue evaluar mediante reserva fraccional de flujo (RFF) la cantidad de isquemia dependiente de una lesion angiografica intermedia en un vaso donante de colaterales antes y despues de la recanalizacion de la OTC, y valorar el cambio en la cantidad de isquemia por resonancia magnetica cardiaca (RMC) antes y 1 mes despues de la recanalizacion. Metodos: Estudio piloto prospectivo en 14 pacientes con angina estable y una OTC que recibia circulacion colateral de un vaso con una estenosis intermedia (50-70% por angiografia coronaria cuantitativa). Para indicar la revascularizacion, todos los pacientes presentaban viabilidad miocardica por RMC. Resultados: De los 14 pacientes, 7 (50%) evidenciaron una RFF ≤ 0,80 antes de la recanalizacion. Los valores medios de RFF de la arteria donante aumentaron significativamente tras la revascularizacion de la OTC (0,75 [0,73-0,78] frente a 0,83 [0,81-0,84]; p = 0,017). Solo 3 pacientes mostraron valores de RFF hemodinamicamente significativos despues de la recanalizacion de una OTC que requirio revascularizacion adicional. Hubo una tendencia hacia una reduccion del numero de segmentos isquemicos (2,5 [0-4] frente a 0 [0-0,25]; p = 0,066) evaluados por RMC antes y despues del intervencionismo. No se observaron eventos cardiacos adversos mayores durante el seguimiento de 2 anos. Conclusiones: Las mediciones de RFF en estenosis intermedias de vasos donantes de colaterales de una OTC pueden ser enganosas. En estos casos podria plantearse la estrategia de centrarse primero en la revascularizacion de la OTC y despues en la evaluacion de la lesion intermedia del vaso donante. EnglishIntroduction and objectives: The strategy of the percutaneous treatment of patients with multivessel disease associated with chronic total coronary occlusion (CTO) lesions is not well defined. Also, the functional significance of lesions located in the collateral donor artery has not been fully addressed. Using the fractional flow reserve (FFR) the objective was to evaluate the amount of ischemia related to the angiographically intermediate stenosis of collateral donor vessels before and immediately after successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of a CTO. Also, to assess any changes operated in the amount of ischemia using cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging prior to the PCI and at 1-month follow-up. Methods: Prospective pilot study including 14 patients with stable angina and a CTO receiving collateral circulation from a blood vessel with intermediate stenosis (50%-70% diameter stenosis measured using quantitative angiography). In order to indicate recanalization by PCI all patients were referred for magnetic resonance assessment of the presence of myocardial viability. Results: Seven (50%) of the 14 patients included showed FFR values ≤ 0.80 before the PCI. FFR measures of the donor artery significantly increased after the revascularization of the CTO (0.75 [0.73-0.78] vs 0.83 [0.81-0.84]; P = .017). Eventually, only 3 patients showed hemodynamically significant FFR values after the recanalization of CTO requiring further revascularization. There was a tendency towards a reduction of the number of ischemic segments (2.5 [0-4] vs 0 [0-0.25]; P = .066) assessed using magnetic resonance imaging before and after the PCI. No major adverse cardiovascular events were reported at the 2-year follow-up. Conclusions: Our data suggest that FFR measurements in intermediate stenoses of collateral donor vessels of a CTO may be misleading. Therefore, the strategy of focusing primarily on the revascularization of the CTO and then on the assessment of the intermediate lesion in a collateral donor vessel may be recommended.

Purpose Two-dimensional (2D) strain derived from speckle tracking proved to be feasible and accurate in the quantitative evaluation of myocardial ischemia during stress echocardiography. We compared the accuracy in detecting myocardial ischemia of the transmural segmental analysis with an endocardial specific evaluation in 20 patients undergoing dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) and coronary angiography. Methods Peak systolic global strain (G-e) and at the subendocardial level (Endo-e) were measured off-line at rest, a low dose, and peak stress; then, we compared the results with wall-motion analysis and significant coronary artery disease (CAD > 70% diameter stenosis). Endocardial strain variation from basal to low and peak dose was computed both for global or subendocardial analysis. The utilization of the ROC curve allowed us to derive optimal cutoffs, sensibility and specificity for ischemic segments. Results The subendocardial analysis at high dose showed to be able to increase significantly the accuracy of the test to detect the ischemic segments (sens 90.2% vs 85.4%; spec 93.1% vs 92.2%). Moreover, at the low dose, the subendocardial analysis showed to be able to increase significantly, mostly the specificity of the test (sens 69.6% vs 68.3%; spec 92.2% vs 86.2%). Notably, the strain subendocardial analysis at low dose showed to reach a high specificity, similar to the peak dose transmural analysis. Conclusions Measurement of subendocardial strain during DSE is feasible and can increase the accuracy of the test. Moreover, the subendocardial strain during DSE can reach a high specificity, even limiting the test at a low dose infusion.

Objectives: B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) has been extensively studied as a biomarker in heart failure. There is clear benefit of BNP in diagnosis and risk stratification of several cardiac diseases including acute coronary syndromes. Our aim was to evaluate diagnostic role of changes in BNP levels with exercise in coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods: Fifty-one patients underwent exercise stress testing (EST) for suspected CAD and consequently underwent coronary angiography (CA) were prospectively enrolled. Patients with and without at least one significant diameter stenosis in major epicardial arteries (CA+ and CA-) versus patients with and without evidence of myocardial ischemia during exercise stress testing (EST+ and EST-) were classified into 4 groups, respectively (Group 1, CA+/EST+; group 2, CA+/EST-; group 3, CA-/EST+; and group 4, CA-/EST-). All patients underwent EST. Blood was drawn from patients for determination of BNP levels 10 minutes prior to, 10 minutes after and 4 hours after EST. Results: EST parameters other than the parameters signifying myocardial ischemia didn’t differ significantly among groups (p > 0.05). Pre-exercise, post-exercise and 4h-post exercise BNP values were significantly higher in group 1 and group 2 compared to group 3 and group 4 (p < 0.05 for all comparisons between the groups for pre-exercise, post-exercise and 4h-post exercise BNP). Exercise-induced increases in BNP were higher in group 1 and group 2. Patients with significant CAD involving LAD demonstrated higher basal and exercise-induced BNP as well as BNP increases, irrespective of the EST result. Conclusions: Basal, maximal-exercise and post exercise BNP values predicted CAD, as well as CAD involving LAD irrespective of ischemic changes in EST. Our results point out potential role of BNP as an adjunct to EST in diagnosis and management of CAD.

A 71-year-old man with diabetes mellitus presented with effort angina. Computed tomography coronary angiogram showed a heavily calcified proximal left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD). Coronary angiogram showed discrete 75% diameter stenosis at the proximal LAD. Intravascular ultrasound

Edge restenosis has gained attention as a main cause of restenosis after first-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of edge restenosis and identify the predictors of edge restenosis after second-generation DES implantation. Data were obtained from several postmarketing surveillance (PMS) studies on a cobalt-chromium everolimus-eluting stent (CoCr-EES; Xience V/PROMUS, Xience Prime, Xience Prime SV, and Xience Expedition SV), a second-generation DES, in Japan. Angiographic analysis was conducted at the baseline and after eight months on the following subsegments: in-stent region, proximal edge, and distal edge. Restenosis was defined as ≥ 50% diameter stenosis (DS) at follow-up. We used multivariate logistic regression (with lesions as a random effect) to compare the instances of restenosis between the proximal and the distal edges. Univariate and multivariate analyses of the risk factors for restenosis were performed for each subsegment. We analyzed 1,966 lesions in 1,687 patients. The restenosis rates at the in-stent region, proximal edge, and distal edge were 4.4%, 3.0%, and 1.1%, respectively. The risk of restenosis at the distal edge was significantly lower than that at the proximal edge, when adjusted for 13 variables. The predictors of restenosis were postprocedural % diameter stenosis (%DS), postprocedural reference diameter, ≥ 45° bending, stent overlap at the proximal edge, and postprocedural %DS at the distal edge. Our analysis of eight-month angiographic outcomes from CoCr-EES PMS demonstrated that postprocedural %DS is a major predictor of edge restenosis. Edge restenosis is more likely attributable to postprocedural angiographic results than to the patient's background.

Our study analyzed the relationship between the neointimal strut bridge and jailed side-branch (SB) ostial area in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) who had a single drug-eluting stent (DES) crossover of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD)/diagonal branch (D) bifurcation.A total of 64 CHD patients with an LAD/D bifurcation treated by optical coherence tomography (OCT)-guided single-DES implantation and followed up at 1 year after primary percutaneous intervention (pPCI) were enrolled in our study. According to the two-dimensional OCT results, patients were divided into a non-neointimal bridge group (n = 44) and a neointimal bridge group (n = 20). Basic clinical, angiographic, 2D and 3D OCT, and DES results were analyzed.The blood lipid levels of the two groups after the 1‑year follow-up were lower than the levels 1 year earlier (p 0.05). There was a notable decrease in the SB ostial minimum lumen diameter and area directly after pPCI vs. before pPCI in both groups. The diameter stenosis directly after pPCI showed a clear increase compared with the pre-pPCI value in both groups (p 0.05 or p 0.01, respectively). The strut distance of the neointimal bridges in the neointimal bridge group was greater than in the non-neointimal bridge group (p 0.05). A clearly short strut distance of the neointimal bridge was observed compared with the strut distance of the non-neointimal bridge in the neointimal bridge group (p 0.05). A larger neointimal bridge area and a smaller SB ostial area were found in the neointimal bridge group compared with the non-neointimal bridge group (p 0.05 or p 0.01, respectively).A short strut distance facilitated formation of a neointimal bridge, which significantly influenced the SB ostial area after single crossover stenting of the SB orifice at the 1‑year follow-up.HINTERGRUND: In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde die Beziehung zwischen der neointimalen Strebenbrücke und der Fläche des gesperrten Seitenastostiums bei Patienten mit koronarer Herzkrankheit (KHK) untersucht, die einen einzelnen medikamentenfreisetzenden Stent („drug-eluting stent“ [DES]) mit Cross-over der Bifurkation von Ramus interventricularis anterior (RIVA) und Diagonalast (D) aufwiesen.In die Studie wurden insgesamt 64 Patienten mit KHK eingeschlossen, bei denen eine mithilfe der optischen Kohärenztomographie (OCT) gesteuerte Implantation eines einzelnen DES an der RIVA/D-Bifurkation durchgeführt wurde und eine Follow-up-Untersuchung ein Jahr nach der primären perkutanen Koronarintervention (pPCI) erfolgte. Auf Grundlage der 2‑dimensionalen OCT-Ergebnisse wurden die Patienten in Gruppen mit (n = 20) und ohne neointimale Brücke (n = 44) eingeteilt. Grundlegende klinische, angiographische, 2‑ und 3‑dimensionale OCT- sowie DES-Ergebnisse wurden analysiert.Die Blutfettwerte der beiden Gruppen waren nach dem 1‑jährigen Follow-up niedriger als ein Jahr zuvor (p 0,05). In beiden Gruppen fand sich eine deutliche Verminderung des minimalen Lumendurchmessers und der minimalen Fläche des Seitenastostiums direkt nach pPCI vs. vor pPCI. Der Stenosegrad direkt nach pPCI zeigte in beiden Gruppen einen deutlichen Anstieg im Vergleich zum Wert vor pPCI (p 0,05 bzw. p 0,01). Der Strebenabstand der neointimalen Brücken in der Gruppe mit neointimaler Brücke war höher als in der Gruppe ohne neointimale Brücke (p 0,05). Der Strebenabstand der neointimalen Brücke war deutlich kürzer als der Strebenabstand der nichtneointimalen Brücke in der Gruppe mit neointimaler Brücke (p 0,05). In der Gruppe mit neointimaler Brücke fanden sich eine größere Fläche der neointimalen Brücke und eine kleinere Fläche des Seitenastostiums im Vergleich zur Gruppe ohne neointimale Brücke (p 0,05 bzw. p 0,01).Ein kurzer Strebenabstand begünstigte die Bildung einer neointimalen Brücke, was die Fläche des Seitenastostiums nach einfachem Cross-over-Stenting der Seitenastöffnung im 1‑jährigen Follow-up signifikant beeinflusste.

Introduction: Myocardial bridge (MB) is a congenital anomaly in which a segment of a coronary artery is surrounded by myocardium. In our study, we want to use conventional coronary angiography (CCA) to describe morphologic characteristics of MB (unidentified or identified) in the patients with documented evidence of MB in coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). Methods: The present study was designed as cross-sectional and was conducted on 47 patients with documented evidence of MB in CCTA, who were referred to Nemazee and Faghihi hospitals for performing coronary angiography during a one year period. We compared the morphologic characteristics of tunneled segments, which were missed at CCA (unidentified), and the tunneled segments which were identified with CCA. Results: In sum, MB was found in 16 (34%) patients at CCA (identified), and it was not found in 31 (66%) patients (unidentified) based on compression sign. No significant correlation was found between the percentage of systolic compression and the length and depth of the tunneled segment in identified group (r=0.73, P = 0.18; r=1.09, P = 0.15; respectively). Degree of atherosclerotic plaque formation (diameter stenosis, percentage) (mean, 0.25 (25%) ±0.29; range, 0-0.98) of the tunneled segments in unidentified group was significantly more than the same degree (mean, 0.07 (7%) ±0.13; range, 0-0.41) of the identified group (P = 0.03). The measurement of the trapezoid area under the tunneled segment with this formula [(MB length+ intramyocardial segment) ×depth/2] had significant relation with systolic compression (r=0.304, P = 0.03) and defined the cut-off value of 250 mm2 as the value of significant difference in detecting myocardial bridging with CCA. Conclusion: Our results showed that in most of identified MBs in CCA the tunneled segment area was equal and more than 250 mm2. In addition, the degree of atherosclerotic plaque of the tunneled segments at CCA was significantly more in unidentified group.

Percentage diameter stenosis (%DS) by angiography is still commonly used to determine luminal obstruction of coronary artery disease (CAD) lesions. While visual estimation of %DS is widespread, because of high inter-operator variability, quantitative coronary arteriography (QCA) analysis is the gold standard. There are two %DS formulas: %DS1 averages the proximal and distal reference vessel diameter (RVD); %DS2 interpolates the RVD. This study aims to evaluate the difference between %DS assessed by QCA in two datasets, phantom lesion models and CAD patients. Ten phantom lesion models (PLMs) and 354 CAD lesions from the FIRST trial were assessed by QCA. In the latter, two scenarios were assessed: Scenario A (worst view), the most common approach in the clinical setting; and Scenario B (average of two complementary views), the standard core-laboratory analysis. In the PLMs, %DS1 and %DS2 mean ± standard deviation (median) was 58.5 ± 21.7 (61.6) and 58.7 ± 21.6 (61.8), respectively, with a signed difference of - 0.2% ± 0.3% (- 0.1%). In Scenario A, the mean %DS1 was 43.8 ± 9.1 (43.3) and 44.0 ± 9.1 (42 .9) in %DS2. In Scenario B, the mean %DS1 was 45.3 ± 8.8 (45.1) and 45.5 ± 9.0 (45.1) in %DS2. The signed difference was - 0.2% ± 2.4% (0.0%) and - 0.2% ± 2.1% (0.0%) in Scenario A and B, respectively. These differences between formulas ranged from - 1.2 to 0.5% for the phantom cases compared to - 17.7% to 7.7% in Scenario A and to - 15.5% to 7.1% in Scenario B. Although the overall means of the formulas provide similar results, significant lesion-level differences are observed. The use of the worst view versus the average of two views provided similar results.

Learning objectives Cardiac CT (CCT), as a diagnostic imaging modality, has been instrumental in advancing contemporary understanding of the pathophysiology and evolution of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Initially developed as a non-invasive approach for the detection and quantification of coronary artery calcification, CCT has evolved into a comprehensive imaging modality that provides anatomic and functional information to guide clinical care.1 2 Coronary CT angiography (CCTA) provides the ability to non-invasively visualise atherosclerotic plaque in a manner that provides complimentary information to the traditional measures of diameter stenosis (as typically assessed on invasive coronary angiography) and perfusion defects (as judged on single photon emission CT).3 Further, the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD) has been shown to provide incremental prognostic information, even if non-obstructive, over the short, intermediate and long term follow-up.4–6 In a parallel manner, the non-coronary applications of CCT have been ever-so expanding.7 In this review, we aim to provide an up to date assessment of CCT within the realm of cardiovascular disease to an audience of international trainees and practicing healthcare providers, starting with a state-of-the-art review of current practices for CAD evaluation and ending with a discussion of emerging applications of CCT. Throughout the past decade, non-invasive assessment of the coronary arteries using CCTA has emerged as an important addition to clinical care. The development of 64-slice CCT scanners was the milestone that provided the required spatial resolution to reliably visualise the coronary vasculature.8 Since then, rapid …

Background. We performed a meta-analysis to compare the diagnostic performance of conventional SPECT (C-SPECT) and cadmium-zinc-telluride (CZT)-SPECT systems in detecting angiographically proven coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods. Studies published between January 2000 and February 2018 were identified by database search. We included studies assessing C-SPECT or CZT-SPECT as a diagnostic test to evaluate patients for the presence of CAD, defined as at least 50% diameter stenosis on invasive coronary angiography. A study was eligible regardless of whether patients were referred for suspected or known CAD. Results. We identified 40 eligible articles (25 C-SPECT and 15 CZT-SPECT studies) including 7334 patients (4997 in C-SPECT and 2337 in CZT-SPECT studies). The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 85% and 66% for C-SPECT and 89% and 69% for CZT-SPECT imaging studies. The area under the curve was slightly higher for CZT-SPECT (0.89) compared to C-SPECT (0.83); accordingly, the summary diagnostic OR was 17 for CZT-SPECT and 11 for C-SPECT. The accuracy of the two tests slightly differs between C-SPECT and CZT-SPECT (chi-square 11.28, P < .05). At meta-regression analysis, no significant association between both sensitivity and specificity and demographical and clinical variables considered was found for C-SPECT and CZT-SPECT studies. Conclusions. C-SPECT and CZT-SPECT have good diagnostic performance in detecting angiographic proven CAD, with a slightly higher accuracy for CZT-SPECT. This result supports the use of the novel gamma cameras in clinical routine practices also considering the improvements in acquisition time and radiation exposure reduction.

Background An optimal system for interpreting fractional flow reserve (FFR) values derived from CT (FFRCT) is lacking. We sought to evaluate performance of three FFRCT measurements in detecting ischemia by comparing them with invasive FFR. Methods For 73 vessels in 50 patients who underwent coronary CT angiography (CCTA) and FFRCT analysis followed by invasive FFR, the greatest diameter stenosis on CCTA, FFRCT difference between distal and proximal to the stenosis (ΔFFRCT), FFRCT 2 cm distal to the stenosis (lesion-specific FFRCT), and the lowest FFRCT in distal vessel tip were calculated. Significant obstruction (≥50% diameter stenosis) and ischemia (lesion-specific FFRCT ≤0.80, the lowest FFRCT ≤0.80, or ΔFFRCT ≥0.12 based on the greatest Youden index) were compared with invasive FFR (≤0.80). Results Forty (55%) vessels demonstrated ischemia during invasive FFR. On multivariable generalized estimating equations, ΔFFRCT (odds ratio [OR] 10.2, p 0.05 for all). Area under the curve (AUC) of ΔFFRCT (0.86) was higher than CCTA (0.66), lesion-specific FFRCT (0.71), and the lowest FFRCT (0.65) (p Conclusions Compared with diameter stenosis, ΔFFRCT, lesion-specific FFRCT, and the lowest FFRCT improved ischemia discrimination and reclassification, with ΔFFRCT being superior in identifying and discriminating ischemia.