Long-Term Change in Flow Rates in Patients with Coronary Slow Flow

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Interventional Cardiology
• Vascular Physiology

Background:

• Coronary slow flow (CSF) impairs coronary artery blood flow, potentially leading to severe cardiovascular events.
• Etiology and long-term reversibility of CSF, including frame count changes, remain insufficiently understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the long-term changes in corrected coronary frame rate (CFR) and CSF status in patients with chronic coronary syndrome.
• To assess the reversibility of CSF patterns over a median follow-up of 2.6 years.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 48 patients with chronic coronary syndrome and CSF undergoing serial angiography.
• CSF defined as a corrected coronary frame rate (CFR) >27.
• Comparison of CFR and CSF status between initial and follow-up angiographies (median 2.6 years).

Main Results:

• No significant changes were observed in median CFR for LAD, Cx, or RCA arteries between the two angiographies.
• CSF status showed no significant change in LAD, Cx, or RCA between baseline and follow-up.
• No significant differences in demographic features or laboratory parameters were found across groups based on CSF status improvement.

Conclusions:

• Long-term follow-up (median 2.6 years) revealed no significant changes in median CFR or CSF status in the overall patient group.
• The findings suggest limited spontaneous reversibility of coronary slow flow patterns over several years.