Noninvasive assessment of coronary flow velocity and coronary flow velocity reserve in the left anterior descending coronary artery by Doppler echocardiography: Comparison with invasive technique

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (TTDE) can reliably measure coronary flow velocity (CFV) and coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) in the clinical setting. Background. Coronary flow velocity measurement has provided useful clinical and physiologic information. Advancement in TTDE provides noninvasive measurement of CFV and CFVR in the distal LAD. Methods. In 23 patients, CFV in the distal LAD was measured by TTDE (5 or 3.5 MHz) under the guidance of color Doppler flow mapping at the time of Doppler guide wire (DGW) examination. Coronary flow velocity in the distal LAD were measured at baseline and hyperemic conditions (intravenous administration of adenosine 0.14 mg/kg/min) by both TTDE and DGW techniques. Coronary flow velocity reserve was defined as the ratio of peak hyperemic to basal averaged peak velocity in the distal LAD. Results. Clear envelopes of basal and hyperemic CFV in the distal LAD were obtained in 18 (78%) of 23 study patients by TTDE. There were excellent correlations between TTDE and DGW methods for the measurements of CFV (averaged peak velocity: r = 0.97, y = 0.94x + 0.40; averaged diastolic peak velocity: r = 0.97, y = 0.94x + 0.69; systolic peak velocities: r = 0.97, y = 0.91x + 0.87; diastolic peak velocity: r = 0.98, y = 0.95x + 1.10). Coronary flow velocity reserve from TTDE correlated highly with those from DGW examinations (r = 0.94, y = 0.95x + 0.21). Conclusions. Noninvasive measurement of CFV and CFVR in the distal LAD using TTDE accurately reflects invasive measurement of CFV and CFVR by DGW method.