FFR and IVUS

RCA = Right coronary artery; LCA = Left coronary artery;
A = Aorta; RV = Right ventricle; LV = Left ventricle

FFR stands for fractional flow reserve. Basically they put a little catheter into the artery in your groin and feed it into the coronary arteries. They use it to test the pressure of the blood flow in the artery before and after the blockage. This helps to determine how much a blockage is effecting blood flow to the heart muscle. If the blockage is significant they will usually(if they can) put a stent in at the same time to open the blockage. Some vessels are unsuitable for stenting though and they may require surgery.

IVUS Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is used to help diagnose coronary artery disease. IVUS uses high-frequency sound waves to create a motion picture of the interior of your coronary arteries. In the cardiac cath lab, a device called a transducer is attached to a catheter, and threaded through an artery into your heart. The transducer sends out sound waves that bounce off the artery structures and return as echoes. These echoes are converted into images on a monitor

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