title: Transthoracic coronary flow reserve and dobutamine derived myocardial function: a 6-month evaluation after successful coronary angioplasty.
abstract: After percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), stress-echocardiography and gated single photon emission computerized tomography (g-SPECT) are usually performed but both tools have technical limitations. The present study evaluated results of PTCA of left anterior descending artery (LAD) six months after PTCA, by combining transthoracic Doppler coronary flow reserve (CFR) and color Tissue Doppler (C-TD) dobutamine stress. Six months after PTCA of LAD, 24 men, free of angiographic evidence of restenosis, underwent standard Doppler-echocardiography, transthoracic CFR of distal LAD (hyperemic to basal diastolic coronary flow ratio) and C-TD at rest and during dobutamine stress to quantify myocardial systolic (Sm) and diastolic (Em and Am, Em/Am ratio) peak velocities in middle posterior septum. Patients with myocardial infarction, coronary stenosis of non-LAD territory and heart failure were excluded. According to dipyridamole g-SPECT, 13 patients had normal perfusion and 11 with perfusion defects. The 2 groups were comparable for age, wall motion score index (WMSI) and C-TD at rest. However, patients with perfusion defects had lower CFR (2.11 +/- 0.4 versus 2.87 +/- 0.6, p < 0.002) and septal Sm at high-dose dobutamine (p < 0.01), with higher WMSI (p < 0.05) and stress-echo positivity of LAD territory in 5/11 patients. In the overall population, CFR was related negatively to high-dobutamine WMSI (r = -0.50, p < 0.01) and positively to high-dobutamine Sm of middle septum (r = 0.55, p < 0.005). In conclusion, even in absence of epicardial coronary restenosis, stress perfusion imaging reflects a physiologic impairment in coronary microcirculation function whose magnitude is associated with the degree of regional functional impairment detectable by C-TD.
authors.affiliation: Cardioangiology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Federico II University Hospital Naples, Italy. s.cicala1@virgilio.it
authors.forename: Silvana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cicala
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Galderisi
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guarini
authors.forename: Arcangelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: D'Errico
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Innelli
authors.forename: Moira
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pardo
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scognamiglio
authors.forename: Oreste
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: de Divitiis
mesh_terms: D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary / Q000379:methods*; D003326:Coronary Circulation; D023921:Coronary Stenosis / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D004280:Dobutamine; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*
chemical_list: D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D004280:Dobutamine