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World J Cardiol. Oct 26, 2014; 6(10): 1108-1112
Published online Oct 26, 2014. doi: 10.4330/wjc.v6.i10.1108
Quantitative assessment of myocardial blush grade in patients with coronary artery disease and in cardiac transplant recipients
Nina Patricia Hofmann, Hartmut Dickhaus, Hugo A Katus, Grigorios Korosoglou
Nina Patricia Hofmann, Hugo A Katus, Grigorios Korosoglou, Department of Cardiology, University of Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Hartmut Dickhaus, Department of Medical Informatics, University of Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Author contributions: All the authors together contributed to this paper.
Correspondence to: Nina Patricia Hofmann, MD, Department of Cardiology, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 410, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. nina.hofmann@med.uni-heidelberg.de
Telephone: +49-6221-5637487
Received: February 20, 2014
Revised: July 25, 2014
Accepted: August 27, 2014
Published online: October 26, 2014
Processing time: 257 Days and 11 Hours
Abstract

Quantitative assessment of myocardial perfusion by myocardial blush grade (MBG) is an angiographic computer-assisted method to assess myocardial tissue-level reperfusion in patients with acute coronary syndromes and microvascular integrity in heart transplant recipients with suspected cardiac allograft vasculopathy. This review describes the ability of quantitative MBG as a simple, fast and cost effective modality for the prompt diagnosis of impaired microvascular integrity during routine cardiac catheterization. Herein, we summarize the existing evidence, its usefulness in the clinical routine, and compare this method to other techniques which can be used for the assessment of myocardial perfusion.

Keywords: Quantitative myocardial blush grade; Prognosis; Heart transplantation; Coronary artery disease

Core tip: In this article, we highlight the ability of quantitative myocardial blush grade for the assessment of microvascular integrity in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and heart transplant (HT) recipients with cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV). Using an, in the meanwhile well-established, computational algorithm, a prompt diagnosis can be made in the catheterization lab, which can identify patients with ACS and increased risk for myocardial remodelling and congestive heart failure in the long-term. In addition, this computational algorithm can identify HT recipients with increased risk for CAV and adverse cardiovascular outcomes.