Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Aug 16, 2015; 3(8): 678-681
Published online Aug 16, 2015. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v3.i8.678
Fractional flow reserve: Current applications and overview of the available data
Matteo Tebaldi, Gianluca Campo, Simone Biscaglia
Matteo Tebaldi, Gianluca Campo, Simone Biscaglia, Cardiovascular Institute, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria S. Anna, Cona, 44100 Ferrara, Italy
Gianluca Campo, LTTA Center, 44100 Ferrara, Italy
Author contributions: Tebaldi M, Campo G and Biscaglia S wrote the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors report no relationships that could be construed as a conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Matteo Tebaldi, MD, Cardiovascular Institute, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria S. Anna, Via Mortara 66, Cona, 44120 Ferrara, Italy. tblmtt@unife.it
Telephone: +39-532-237227 Fax: +39-532-236593
Received: January 27, 2015
Peer-review started: January 28, 2015
First decision: March 6, 2015
Revised: March 26, 2015
Accepted: May 26, 2015
Article in press: May 27, 2015
Published online: August 16, 2015
Abstract

Flow fractional reserve (FFR) allows to evaluate the functional significance of coronary artery lesions, through the ratio of the mean coronary artery pressure after the stenosis to the mean aortic pressure during maximum hyperemia. The actual widely accepted cut-off value is 0.80. Below this value a coronary lesion is considered significant and therefore it requires invasive revascularization. Several studies [in particular Fractional Flow Reserve vs Angiography for Multivessel Evaluation 1 (FAME-1) and FAME-2] have shown the relationship between FFR measurement and hard end-points (death, myocardial infarction, and urgent revascularization). Consequently, FFR evaluation represents the cornerstone in the decision-making in intermediate coronary lesions. Recent studies paved the way for further applications of FFR evaluation in complex and tricky clinical settings. In this paper, we perform an overview of the data regarding contemporary application of FFR. In particular, we review the use of FFR in: left main intermediate stenoses, serial stenoses, evaluation after stenting, guidance in coronary artery bypass surgery, and acute coronary syndrome. All the data presented in our overview confirm the essential role of FFR assessment in the daily clinical practice. The shift from “operator-dependent” to “FFR-dependent” evaluation in intermediate coronary artery stenosis is of paramount importance in order to improve the prognosis of our patients, through the discrimination of the functional role of every single coronary stenosis.

Keywords: Intermediate coronary lesion, Fractional flow reserve, Coronary artery bypass surgery, Left main, Acute coronary syndrome, Serial stenoses

Core tip: Fractional flow reserve (FFR) evaluation is well validated in intermediate coronary lesions. Still, there are several clinical settings in which its use is debated. In this paper, we perform an overview on the available data regarding FFR and complex clinical settings, as left main intermediate stenoses, serial stenoses, evaluation after stenting, guidance in coronary artery bypass surgery, and acute coronary syndromes.