VIDEO: The benefits of implementing FFR-CT in clinical practice

The routine implementation of fractional flow reserve computed tomography (FFR-CT) in cardiac evaluations represents a paradigm shift in cardiovascular medicine and it is now being used more widely in community hospital settings. The quest for noninvasive, yet precise methods to evaluate coronary artery disease (CAD) has enabled FFR-CT to emerge as a groundbreaking tool because it combines anatomical and physiological data that provide valuable insights into the hemodynamic significance of plaques without the need for other tests or invasive angiography.

"What we do is any patient undergoing cardiac CT, if we think it's clinically appropriate, we send for FFR HeartFlow analysis. The idea behind that is, we are trying to find actionable intelligence about whether the patient needs to undergo any kind of invasive procedure, or if they can be easily managed medically. The idea to understand the severity of disease is based on combining the coronary CT data, which is anatomical information with the physiological information," explained Himanshu Gupta, MD, the director of cardiac imaging at the Heart and Vascular Clinic of Valley Health System in New Jersey. He shared his center's experience of route FFR-CT implementation in an interview with Cardiovascular Business at the Society of Cardiovascular CT (SCCT) 2023 meeting.