CT-based myocardial ischemia evaluation: quantitative angiography, transluminal attenuation gradient, myocardial perfusion, and CT-derived fractional flow reserve

Abstract

The detection of hemodynamically significant stenosis is important because ischemia-guided revascularization improves overall patient outcomes. Fractional flow reserve (FFR), which is measured during invasive coronary angiography, is regarded as the gold standard for determining hemodynamically significant coronary stenosis. Although coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) has been widely used to exclude significant coronary artery disease in patients with low to intermediate pretest probability, anatomic assessment by CCTA using diameter stenosis >= 50 % does not correlate well with the functional assessment of FFR. To overcome the weaknesses of conventional CCTA, such as its low specificity and positive predictive value, especially in patients with a small-diameter artery, poor image quality, or high calcium score, more sophisticated CCTA analysis methods have been developed to detect hemodynamically significant coronary stenosis. Studies that use the quantification of coronary plaque, transluminal attenuation gradient (TAG), CT myocardial perfusion (CTP), and CT-derived FFR have been conducted to validate their diagnostic performances, though each method has its pros and cons. This review provides details on the quantification of coronary plaque, TAG, CTP, and CT-derived FFR, including a definition of each, how to gather and interpret data, and the strengths and limitations of each. Further, we provide an overview of recent clinical studies.