Is FFR heart rate dependent ? If yes, how significant it is?

FFR is the ultimate hemodynamic test that measures the physiological Impact of lesions. Just pass a manometer tipped wire across the lesion and note the pressure drop (with or without Adenosine) All you have to remember is two cut off values  .8 for FFR and .9 for IFR. Abracadabra . . . yes you got the answer , whether to proceed with PCI or not? It’s as simple as that. We are no longer blind to physiology to which many coronary purists often criticize us. Coronary physiology simplified Now , answer this question. Is FFR heart rate dependent? If yes, how significant it is? This simple question on coronary physiology caused the maximum distress  to  a large expert cardiologist group Some of the answers No, it doesn’t. I think it may be affected. Yes for sure, but it’s not significant Yes, it’s an important limitation My Answer It has to be yes, right, however minimal it may be. My interpretation of truth in FFR is, it can have a massive influence* . (*Unless you are sure (we can never be ) about achieving maximum hyperemia or this hyperemia is the same as physiological exercise.) In fact, the whole concept of FFR lies in the fact that it should induce enough HR raise that should be used as a surrogate marker for maximum hyperemia. Ideally, like stress testing, we need to test FFR at maximum heart rate and minimal heart rate. The difference could be documented as FFR max-min. This will throw new light into the physiology of microcirculation. Should ...
Source: Dr.S.Venkatesan MD - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: fame study ffr quantitative coronary angiogram fractional flow reserve ffr ifr IFR QFR instantaneous flow reserve Limitations of FFR pressure wire channel in gruentzig original ptca balloon zurich Source Type: blogs