Functional Evaluation of Coronary Disease by CT Angiography

• Published in: JACC. Cardiovascular imaging 2015-11, Vol.8 (11), p.1322-1335
• Main Authors: de Araújo Gonçalves, Pedro, MD, PhD, Rodríguez-Granillo, Gastón A., MD, PhD, Spitzer, Ernest, MD, Suwannasom, Pannipa, MD, Loewe, Christian, MD, Nieman, Koen, MD, PhD, Garcia-Garcia, Hector M., MD, PhD
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: cardiac computed tomography; Cardiovascular; Coronary Angiography - methods; coronary artery disease; Coronary Artery Disease - diagnostic imaging; Coronary Artery Disease - physiopathology; Coronary Vessels - diagnostic imaging; Coronary Vessels - physiopathology; Female; Fractional Flow Reserve, Myocardial; functional evaluation; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Myocardial Perfusion Imaging - methods; Predictive Value of Tests; Prognosis; Reproducibility of Results; Severity of Illness Index; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
• ISSN: 1936-878X; 1876-7591
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcmg.2015.09.003

Abstract In recent years, several technical developments in the field of cardiac computed tomography (CT) have made possible the extraction of functional information from an anatomy-based examination. Several different lines have been explored and will be reviewed in the present paper, namely: 1) myocardial perfusion imaging; 2) transluminal attenuation gradients and corrected coronary opacification indexes; 3) fractional flow reserve computed from CT; and 4) extrapolation from atherosclerotic plaque characteristics. In view of these developments, cardiac CT has the potential to become in the near future a truly 2-in-1 noninvasive evaluation for coronary artery disease.