Clinical Use of CT-Derived Fractional Flow Reserve in the Emergency Department.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to examine the feasibility, safety, clinical outcomes, and costs associated with computed tomography-derived fractional flow reserve (FFRCT) in acute chest pain (ACP) patients in a coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA)-based triage program. BACKGROUND: FFRCT is useful in determining lesion-specific ischemia in patients with stable ischemic heart disease, but its utility in ACP has not been studied. METHODS: ACP patients with no known coronary artery disease undergoing coronary CTA and coronary CTA with FFRCT were studied. FFRCT ≤0.80 was considered positive for hemodynamically significant stenosis. RESULTS: Among 555 patients, 297 underwent coronary CTA and FFRCT (196 negative, 101 positive), whereas 258 had coronary CTA only. The rejection rate for FFRCT was 1.6%. At 90 days, there was no difference in major adverse cardiac events (including death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and unexpected revascularization after the index visit) between the coronary CTA and FFRCT groups (4.3% vs. 2.7%; p = 0.310). Diagnostic failure, defined as discordance between the coronary CTA or FFRCT results with invasive findings, did not differ between the groups (1.9% vs. 1.68%; p = NS). No deaths or myocardial infarction occurred with negative FFRCT when revascularization was deferred. Negative FFRCT was associated with higher nonobstructive disease on invasive coronary angiography (56.5%) than positive FFRCT (8.0%) and coronary CTA (22.9%) (p < 0.001). There was no difference in overall costs between the coronary CTA and FFRCT groups ($8,582 vs. $8,048; p = 0.550). CONCLUSIONS: In ACP, FFRCT is feasible, with no difference in major adverse cardiac events and costs compared with coronary CTA alone. Deferral of revascularization is safe with negative FFRCT, which is associated with higher nonobstructive disease on invasive angiography.

Role of stress management for cardiovascular disease prevention.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Despite the significant decline in cardiovascular disease (CVD) rates owing to recognition of risk factors, timely and appropriate therapy for acute events, and improved medical therapy, it remains the leading cause of death globally. Novel risk factors and modifications must be considered in the development and progression of CVD. The purpose of this review is to delineate the association between psychological and mental stress and CVD. RECENT FINDINGS: Stress has been implicated as a significant risk factor in both the acceleration of atherosclerosis and a trigger for acute CVD events. In the last decade, a growing body of evidence has been accumulated on the biological, neuroanatomical, and neurophysiological effects of stress and the benefits of cultivating resilience. The pathophysiology of stress is complex and involves the brain, autonomic nervous system, and the endocrine system, with associated metabolic, inflammatory, and hemostatic abnormalities. SUMMARY: Most practice guidelines do not recognize the importance of screening for stress in primary and secondary CVD prevention. There is a paucity of large, scalable, and cost-effective approaches for stress intervention. Two potential strategies are required for reducing stress: strategies that are population-based, and narrower targeted strategies for clinical practice.

Coronary CT angiography after stress testing: an efficient use of resources? Implications of the Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Consortium (ACIC) results.

Coronary CT angiography (CCTA) has matured to be a fast noninvasive imaging test in the evaluation of coronary artery disease (CAD). It has demonstrated excellent accuracy for defining the presence and the severity of luminal coronary artery stenoses and is probably the best noninvasive test to reliably exclude atherosclerotic coronary disease. Furthermore, accumulating CCTA data indicate that it can identify individuals at risk for all-cause mortality. It is also well known that despite the wealth of data regarding diagnostic and prognostic values of stress testing in CAD, up to 10% of stress imaging studies are considered inconclusive, leading to subsequent invasive coronary angiography for definitive diagnosis often with negative results. Moreover, recent data indicate that up to 30 % of patients undergoing angiography have no significant CAD despite a majority of them having had a prior stress test. Whether CCTA can serve as a cost-effective methodology to invasive angiography has been a source of active research. In this context, we will discuss the implications of the recently published data from the Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Consortium registry looking at the use of CCTA after stress testing in Michigan.

Rationale, design, and goals of the Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Consortium (ACIC): A Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan collaborative quality improvement project.

BACKGROUND: Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is an emerging noninvasive anatomical method for evaluation of patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). Multicenter clinical registries are key to efforts to establish the role of CCTA in CAD diagnosis and management. The Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Consortium (ACIC) is a statewide, multicenter collaborative quality initiative with the intent to establish quality and appropriate use of CCTA in Michigan. METHODS: The ACIC is sponsored by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan/Blue Care Network, and its 47 sites include imaging centers that offer CCTA and meet established structure and process standards for participation. Patients enrolled include those with suspected ischemia with or without known CAD, and individuals across the entire spectrum of CAD risk. Patient demographics, history, CCTA scan-related data and findings, and 90-day follow-up data are entered prospectively into a centralized database with strict validation tools and processes. Collaborative quality initiatives include radiation dose reduction and appropriate CCTA use by education and feedback to participating sites and referring physicians. CONCLUSIONS: Across a wide range of institutions, the ACIC permits evaluation of "real-world" utilization and effectiveness of CCTA and examines an alternative, nontraditional approach to utilization management wherein physicians and payers collaborate to address the growing problem of cardiac imaging overutilization.

The CT-STAT (Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography for Systematic Triage of Acute Chest Pain Patients to Treatment) trial.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to compare the efficiency, cost, and safety of a diagnostic strategy employing early coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) to a strategy employing rest-stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) in the evaluation of acute low-risk chest pain. BACKGROUND: In the United States, >8 million patients require emergency department evaluation for acute chest pain annually at an estimated diagnostic cost of >$10 billion. METHODS: This multicenter, randomized clinical trial in 16 emergency departments ran between June 2007 and November 2008. Patients were randomly allocated to CCTA (n = 361) or MPI (n = 338) as the index noninvasive test. The primary outcome was time to diagnosis; the secondary outcomes were emergency department costs of care and safety, defined as freedom from major adverse cardiac events in patients with normal index tests, including 6-month follow-up. RESULTS: The CCTA resulted in a 54% reduction in time to diagnosis compared with MPI (median 2.9 h [25th to 75th percentile: 2.1 to 4.0 h] vs. 6.3 h [25th to 75th percentile: 4.2 to 19.0 h], p < 0.0001). Costs of care were 38% lower compared with standard (median $2,137 [25th to 75th percentile: $1,660 to $3,077] vs. $3,458 [25th to 75th percentile: $2,900 to $4,297], p < 0.0001). The diagnostic strategies had no difference in major adverse cardiac events after normal index testing (0.8% in the CCTA arm vs. 0.4% in the MPI arm, p = 0.29). CONCLUSIONS: In emergency department acute, low-risk chest pain patients, the use of CCTA results in more rapid and cost-efficient safe diagnosis than rest-stress MPI. Further studies comparing CCTA to other diagnostic strategies are needed to optimize evaluation of specific patient subsets. (Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography for Systematic Triage of Acute Chest Pain Patients to Treatment [CT-STAT]; NCT00468325).