FRACTIONAL FLOW RESERVE

Course overview

ANGIOGRAPHIC RESULTS ALONE CAN GUIDE THE DECISION TO PERFORM A PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY INTERVENTION (PCI). ANGIOGRAPHY IS USED TO VISUALLY ASSESS THE CORONARY ANATOMY AND DETERMINE THE DEGREE OF STENOSIS, PLAQUE OR BLOCKAGE IN THE CORONARY ARTERY. THE BLOCKAGE CREATES VISUAL IRREGULARITIES OF THE INNER DIAMETER OF CORONARY VESSELS ON ANGIOGRAPHY AND THOSE IRREGULARITIES ARE QUANTIFIED USING A PERCENTAGE. THIS PERCENTAGE CORRELATES WITH THE DEGREE OF BLOCKAGE OF THE ARTERY. THE DEGREE OF BLOCKAGE IS USUALLY QUANTIFIED WITH A PERCENTAGE AND CATEGORIZED INTO MILD, MODERATE/INTERMEDIATE OR SEVERE. THIS ACTIVITY DESCRIBES THE QUANTIFICATION OF BLOCKAGES IN THE CORONARY ARTERY USING THE FRACTIONAL FLOW RESERVE METHOD.