Percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with multi-vessel coronary artery disease: a focus on physiology

Abstract

Multi-vessel coronary artery disease (MVD) frequently features ambiguous or intermediate lesions that may be both serial and complex, suggesting that multiple regions require revascularization. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is associated with various challenges such as appropriate identification of lesions that should be treated, the choice of an optimum revascularization method, and limitations of long-term outcomes. Optimal patient selection and careful targeting of lesions are key when planning treatment. Physiology-guided decision-making (based on the fractional flow reserve) can overcome the current limitations of PCI used to treat MVD regardless of clinical presentation or disease subtype, as confirmed in recent clinical trials. Here, we review the use of physiology-guided PCI for patients with MVD, and their early and late outcomes.