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The transition from the anatomical to the physiological angiographic assessment: fractional flow reserve or instantaneous wave-free ratio

Truscelli G

Guglielmo Marconi University of Rome, Italy

E-mail : giovanni_truscelli@yahoo.it

Bianchi M

Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

Fioranelli M

Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

DOI: 10.15761/JIC.1000146

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Abstract

Coronary angiography is an invasive procedure to detect the severity of CAD. However, the visual evaluation of the diameter of the vessel is not always sufficient. In the last years, stent decision-making uses new functional measurements: the Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) and the Instantaneous Wave-Free ratio (IFR). The first index is adenosine-dependent with a cut-off of 0.86: coronary stenosis under this level were treated. Conversely, the second one is an adenosine-independent index. A value under 0.9 suggested a flow reduction.  Recently, to test the use the two methods an Hybrid IFR/FFR approach was provided.

During angiography, IFR was performed. Coronary stenoses < to 0.86 were treated. In other direction, a value > 0.94 deferred revascularization and, in the range of 0,86-0.94, FFR guided therapy. Using this approach the 60 % of patients were free from intravenous vasodilator infusions that are expensive. So, there was a lowering of healthcare costs and adverse effects, for patients. Import clinical trials provide evidences and the usefulness of this complementary strategy. This caused a relevant improvement both in patient outcomes than in time of revascularization. However, the IFR in clinical routine still requires prospective clinical endpoint trial evaluations.

Key words

fractional flow reserve, istantaneous wave-free ratio, hybrid strategy, physiological angiographic assessment

Introduction

Coronary angiography is an invasive procedure to detect the severity of CAD. However, the visual evaluation of the diameter of the vessel is not always sufficient. The detection of an intermediate stenoses needs a physiological assessment of its severity, especially in patients without a prior stress-imaging, when it is not available or his results are borderlines. In the cath lab, this assessment is done using Fractional Flow reserve: the ratio, at maximum hyperemia, between mean distal coronary pressure and the aortic one. This index is based upon the principle that the maximum functional capacity of a patient is linked to the maximal flow during hyperemia o exercise, when the blood flow and perfusion pressure are proportional (Figure 1).

According to Defer [1], Fame I [2] and Advise Ii trials [3], when coronary physiology is used to perform revascularization, the procedure is safe.

If a FFR ≤ 0.80 revascularization procedure will be recommended to improve [4]:

- angina symptoms, unresponsive to maximal therapy;

- patient's prognosis, in the setting of a left main disease (>50 %);

- a proximal LAD stenosis or a multivessel disease (>50 %) with a left ventricular failure (FE< 40%).

Maximal hyperemia was reached by adenosine administered intravenously.

However, many adverse reactions could occur as bronchoconstriction, significant hypotension, flushing, chest discomfort and, sometimes, arrhythmia: second- or third-degree AV block. So, today during cardiac catheterization a new diagnostic tool was performed: the Instantaneous Wave-Free ratio (IFR). This represents a new adenosine-independent index. The IFR is the diastolic ratio between the distal coronary pressure and the aortic one, in a specific period. So, both flows than pressures are linearly related and a value below 0.9 is suggested of flow restriction (Tables 1 and 2).

The Advise study demonstered as this new index of stenosis severity was comparable to FFR [5]. According the Advise registry, the classification of a population with intermediate stenosis revealed an excellent agreement between the FFR and IFR 's one [6]. Furthermore, in the Clarify study, a futher hyperemia, by the administration of adenosine and the reduction in resistance, did not improve diagnostic categorization. So, iFR is an alternative method to FFR [7]. Recently, to test the use of the two methods an Hybrid IFR/FFR approach was provided [8]. During angiography, IFR was performed. Coronary stenosis with an index of < to 0.86 were treated. In the range of 0,86-0.94, FFR guide therapy. Conversely, a value > 0.94 deferred revascularization. Using this approach the 60 % of patients were free from intravenous vasodilator infusions that were expensive. So, there was a lowering of healthcare costs and of adverse effects, for patients. Import clinical trials as the Advise II [9] the Resove [10] and the Sintax II [11] provide evidences and the usefulness of this complementary strategy.

Conclusions

Today, combining IFR with FFR in a hybrid strategy offer a physiological assessment, ease to use, that enhaces accurance during decision-making. This new approach can predict the significance of many intermediate stenoses, especially when non-invasive stress imaging is unavailable or contraindicated.

So, there was a relevant improvement both in patient outcomes than in time of revascularization. About the 60% of patients were free from more expensive intravenous vasodilators with a lowered healthcare costs and adverse effects. However, according to Hale et al. [12], IFR in clinical routine still requires prospective clinical endpoint trial evaluations.

References

  1. Pijls  NH, van Schaardenburgh P, Manoharan G, Boersma E, Bech  JW, et al. (2007) Percutaneous coronary intervention of functionally nonsignificant stenosis: 5-year follow-up of the DEFER Study. Journal of the American College of Cardiology 49: 2105-2111.
  2. Tonino PA, De Bruyne B, Pijls NH, Siebert U, Ikeno F, et al. (2009) Fractional flow reserve versus angiography for guiding percutaneous coronary intervention. New England Journal of Medicine 360: 213-224.
  3.  De Bruyne B, Pijls NH, Kalesan B, Barbato E, et al. (2012) Fractional reserve-guided PCI vs. medical therapy in stable coronary disease. N Engl J Med 367: 991–1001.
  4.   ESC/EACTS Guidelines on myocardial revascularization (2014) European Heart Journal 35: 2541–2619.
  5.  Sen S, Escane2021 Copyright OAT. All rights reservment and validation of a new adenosine-independent index of stenosis severity from coronary wave-intensity analysis: results of the ADVISE (ADenosine Vasodilator Independent Stenosis Evaluation) study. Journal of the American College of Cardiology 59: 1392–1402.
  6. Petraco R, Escaned J, Sen S, et al. (2013) Classification performance of instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) and fractional flow reserve in a clinical population of intermediate coronary stenoses: results of the ADVISE registry. EuroIntervention: Journal of EuroPCR in collaboration with the Working Group on Interventional Cardiology of the European Society of Cardiology 9: 91–101.
  7. Sen S, Asrress KA, Nijjer S, et al. (2013) Diagnostic Classification of the Instantaneous Wave-Free Ratio Is Equivalent to Fractional Flow Reserve and Is Not Improved With Adenosine Administration Results of CLARIFY (Classification Accuracy of Pressure-Only Ratios Against Indices Using Flow Study). J Am Coll Cardiol 61: 1409-1420.
  8. Petraco R, Park JJ, Sen S, et al. (2013) Hybrid iFR-FFR decision-making strategy: implications for enhancing universal adoption of physiology-guided coronary revascularisation. EuroIntervention 8: 1157–1165.
  9.  Escaned J, Mauro Echavarría-Pinto M, Garcia-Garcia HM, et al. (2015) Prospective Assessment of the Diagnostic Accuracy of Instantaneous Wave-Free Ratio to Assess Coronary Stenosis Relevance Results of ADVISE II International, Multicenter Study (ADenosine Vasodilator Independent Stenosis Evaluation II). J Am Coll Cardiol Intv 8: 824–833.
  10. Jeremias A, Maehara A, Gènèreux P (2014) Multicenter core laboratory comparison of the instantaneous wave-free ratio and resting Pd/Pa with fractional flow reserve: the RESOLVE study. J Am Coll Cardiol. 63: 1253-1261.
  11. Farooq V, van Klaveren D, Steyerberg EW, et al. (2013) Anatomical and clinical characteristics to guide decision  making between coronary artery bypass surgery and percutaneous coronary intervention for individual patients: development and validation of SYNTAX score II. Lancet 381: 639–650.
  12. Härle T, Bojara W, Meyer S, Elsässer A (2015) Comparison of instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) and fractional flow reserve (FFR)--first real world experience. Int J Cardiol 199: 1-7. [Crossref]

Editorial Information

Editor-in-Chief

Massimo Fioranelli
Guglielmo Marconi University

Article Type

Research Article

Publication history

Received date: December 02, 2015
Accepted date: December 24, 2015
Published date: January 02, 2016

Copyright

©2015 Truscelli G. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Citation

Truscelli G, Bianchi M, Fioranelli M (2015) The transition from the anatomical to the physiological angiographic assessment: fractional flow reserve or instantaneous wave-free ratio. J Integr Cardiol, 2: DOI: 10.15761/JIC.1000146

Corresponding author

Giovanni Truscelli

Department of Heart and Great Vessels “A. Reale” “Sapienza” University of Rome, Italy.

E-mail : giovanni_truscelli@yahoo.it

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