FDA Approves New Noninvasive FFR Technology

The FDA said today that it had granted approval to a novel technology that noninvasively measures fractional flow reserve (FFR) using data obtained from a CT scan of the heart…. … Click here to read the full post on Forbes.  …

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Fractional Flow Reserve Gains Support in Stable CAD and NSTEMI

In recent years interventional cardiologists have started to use a new catheter technique, called fractional flow reserve (FFR), in an attempt to assess which blocked vessels might benefit from a stent. Two studies presented at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Barcelona offered new support for FFR, which has been slowly but surely gaining traction in the…

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ESC Trials: The Best And The Worst

Two trials presented at the ESC this year– WOEST and IABP-SHOCK II— are great examples of the way medicine is supposed to work. Another trial, FAME 2, is an example of so many of the things that can go wrong. WOEST and IABP-SHOCK II are remarkably similar. Both trials tested conventional wisdom and found it lacking. WOEST…

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FAME 2: Can FFR Save PCI From Medical Therapy?

Two sharply divergent views have developed about the value of fractional flow reserve (FFR) in PCI. FFR advocates think the new technology can help identify ischemic lesions that will benefit from PCI, thereby helping to salvage or enhance the reputation of PCI. FFR skeptics think that optimal medical therapy is still the preferred option for most…

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