Long-term prognostic value of Murray law-based quantitative flow ratio in jailed left circumflex coronary artery

Lieyou Li1, Zhihai Feng1, Lin Zhang1

  • 1Department of Cardiology, Institute of Coronary Heart Disease, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Xinquan, Road 29#, Fuzhou, 350001, Fujian, China.

Scientific Reports
|March 17, 2023
PubMed

Insights

New research shows that a low quantitative flow ratio (QFR) in the jailed left circumflex coronary artery (LCx) after left main coronary artery (LM) stenting predicts worse long-term outcomes. A QFR of 0.85 or higher in the LCx indicates a low risk of adverse events.

Area of Science:

  • Interventional Cardiology
  • Cardiovascular Imaging
  • Biomedical Engineering

Background:

  • Left main coronary artery (LM) stenting is a common procedure.
  • Jailed side branches, such as the left circumflex coronary artery (LCx), can affect long-term outcomes.
  • Quantitative flow ratio (QFR) is an emerging technique to assess coronary artery stenosis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the impact of Murray law-based QFR of jailed LCx on 5-year clinical outcomes after LM-to-left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) crossover stenting.
  • To determine if QFR of the jailed LCx can predict target lesion failure (TLF).

Main Methods:

  • 164 patients undergoing LM-to-LAD crossover stenting with assessable LCx for QFR were enrolled.
  • The primary endpoint was 5-year TLF (cardiac death, target vessel MI, or target lesion revascularization).
  • QFR was computed for the jailed LCx post-stenting, with a cutoff of <0.80 for low QFR.

Main Results:

  • The mean LCx QFR was 0.88 ± 0.09.
  • A low LCx QFR (<0.80) was associated with a significantly higher 5-year TLF rate (27.6% vs. 6.7%, HR: 4.235, p=0.0015).
  • Low LCx QFR was an independent predictor of 5-year TLF (HR: 3.21, p=0.019) and had an AUC of 0.73 for predicting adverse outcomes, with a cutoff of 0.85.

Conclusions:

  • A low QFR in the jailed LCx after LM stenting is linked to worse long-term clinical outcomes.
  • A QFR ≥ 0.85 in the jailed LCx predicts a low risk of adverse events.
  • QFR assessment of the jailed LCx may aid in decisions regarding additional procedures for side branches.