Revascularization of coronary artery stenosis should be based on the objective evidence of ischemia. Coronary angiography provides excellent spatial and temporal resolution for the visualization of the coronary arteries, but is of limited value in defining the functional significance of a particular lesion.Fractional flow reserve (FFR) has become routine practice in the cardiac catheterization laboratory and is considered nowadays as the gold standard for invasive assessment of physiologic stenosis significance. This paper reviews the concepts behind the coronary physiology and FFR, its practical application and summarizes current evidence from key clinical trials.
Keywords: coronary artery disease.; coronary physiology; fractional flow reserve.