Mean transit time for videodensitometric assessment of myocardial perfusion and the concept of maximal flow ratio: a validation study in the intact dog and a pilot study in man

Abstract

Over the last decade it has become more and more obvious that besides anatomical information about the severity of coronary artery stenoses, information about coronary and myocardial blood flow is necessary to understand the functional significance of these obstructions and to evaluate the result of an intervention. Several methods have been proposed for this purpose, each of these having their particular limitations. In this study a new method is shortly described which allows the accurate calculation of relative maximal myocardial perfusion by ECG-triggered digital radiography (videodensitometry), using mean transit time (Tmn) as time parameter; this technique is based on the original physiologic principles of indicator dilution theory. This method was validated in 8 instrumented dogs in which an excellent linear relation was present between 1/Tmn and flow (r = 0.96 +/- 0.03). Although this method does not allow assessment of resting flow and therefore coronary flow reserve (CFR), it provides a means for the reliable comparison of maximal myocardial flow in different situations and it is independent of most factors affecting coronary flow reserve. The ratio between maximal flow after and before an intervention is called maximal flow ratio (MFR) and this concept was applied in a pilot study in man to evaluate PTCA results in 10 patients undergoing elective angioplasty. MFR was compared with the result of exercise testing 24 hours before and 10 days after the angioplasty. MFR greater than or equal to 1.5 was always accompanied by reversal of exercise test result from positive to negative. We conclude that the accurate calculation of relative maximal perfusion of the myocardium is possible by videodensitometry and suggest that comparison of maximal flow after and before an intervention can be valuable in man for functional evaluation of the result of the intervention.