Adequate patient selection for percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) is important in view of the potential procedural complications and the incidence of restenosis. Assessment of the functional significance of coronary lesions is mandatory, especially in intermediate coronary narrowings (40 to 70% diameter stenosis). Assessment can be performed noninvasively (using myocardial perfusion scintigraphy; MPS)
1 or invasively during cardiac catheterisation using intracoronary derived haemodynamic indices.
2 Previous validation studies have shown good agreement (80 to 90%) between these parameters and the results of noninvasive stress tests.
3-5 …