Background. Coronary flow reserve (CFR) was decreased not only in the infarct-related artery, but also in the non-infarct-related arteries (NIRA) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, the clinical value of CFR in NIRA measured after successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has not been fully clarified.
Methods. We studied 27 patients with inferior AMI (AMI group) and 18 patients with no evidence of coronary artery stenosis (control group). Coronary flow velocities in the left anterior descending coronary artery were recorded 1 week after PCI by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography at rest during hyperemia. Regional wall motion was analyzed by the wall motion score index (WMSI), calculated as an average of segmental scores in the RCA territory (R-WMSI) after PCI and at 3 weeks.
Results. CFR in the NIRA was significantly lower in the AMI group than in the control group (2.9 ± 0.9 vs. 3.7 ± 0.7, p <0.005). CFR in the NIRA correlated significantly with peak CPK and ΔR-WMSI (r = -0.524, p <0.005, and r = -0.648, p <0.005, respectively).
Conclusions. CFR in the NIRA was decreased after AMI after successful PCI
