Relation Among Stenosis Severity, Myocardial Blood Flow, and Flow Reserve in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease

Abstract

In patients with coronary artery disease, non-invasive measurements of myocardial blood flow and flow reserve by PET are inversely and nonlinearly related to stenosis severity as defined by quantitative angiography. Importantly, coronary lesions of intermediate severity have a differential flow reserve that decreases as stenosis increases that can be detected noninvasively by PET, thus allowing better definition of the functional importance of known coronary stenosis.