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Fractional Flow Reserve
Fractional flow reserve (FFR) is a diagnostic technique used in coronary catheterization to measure pressure differences across a coronary artery stenosis(narrowing, usually due to atherosclerosis) to determine the likelihood that the stenosis impedes oxygen delivery to the heart muscle (myocardial ischemia).
Fractional flow reserve is defined as the pressure after (distal to) a stenosis relative to the pressure before the stenosis. The result is an absolute number; an FFR of 0.80 means that a given stenosis causes a 20% drop in blood pressure. In other words, FFR expresses the maximal flow down a vessel in the presence of a stenosis compared to the maximal flow in the hypothetical absence of the stenosis.*
During coronary catheterization, a catheter is inserted into the femoral (groin) or radial arteries (wrist) using a sheath and guidewire. FFR uses a small sensor on the tip of the wire (commonly a transducer) to measure pressure, temperature and flow to determine the exact severity of the lesion. This is done during maximal blood flow (hyperemia), which can be induced by injecting products such as adenosine or papaverine. A pullback of the pressure wire is performed, and pressures are recorded across the vessel.
There is no absolute cut-off point at which FFR becomes abnormal; rather, there is a smooth transition, with a large grey zone of insecurity. In clinical trials however, a cut-off point of 0.75 to 0.80 has been used; higher values indicate a non-significant stenosis, whereas lower values indicate a significant lesion.
FFR has certain advantages over other techniques to evaluate narrowed coronary arteries, such as coronary angiography, intravascular ultrasound or CT coronary angiography. For example, FFR takes into account collateral flow, which can render an anatomical blockage functionally unimportant. Also, standard angiography can underestimate or overestimate narrowing, because it only visualizes contrast inside a vessel. Finally, when compared to other indices of vessel narrowing, FFR seems to be less vulnerable to variability between patients.
Other techniques can also provide information which FFR cannot. Intravascular ultrasound, for example, can provide information on plaque vulnerability, whereas FFR measures are only determined by plaque thickness. There are newly developed technologies that can assess both plaque vulnerability and FFR from CT by measuring the vasodilitative capacity of the arterial wall.
FFR allows real-time estimation of the effects of a narrowed vessel, and allows for simultaneous treatment with balloon dilatation and stenting. On the other hand, FFR is an invasive procedure for which non-invasive (less drastic) alternatives exist, such as cardiac stress testing. In this test, physical exercise or intravenous medication (adenosine/dobutamine) is used to increase the workload and oxygen demand of the heart muscle, and ischemia is detected using ECG changes or nuclear imaging.
* Published by Wikipedia