Effect of Eptifibatide on coronary flow reserve following coronary stent implantation -: (An ESPRIT substudy)

Percutaneous coronary intervention with stenting improves epicardial large vessel lumen diameters but can be detrimental to the microcirculation as a result of either downstream embolization or vasospasm. Coronary flow reserve (CFR) is a measure ment of the capacity of blood flow that is augmented in response to adenosine (hyperemic flow) and is a valuable tool in assessing the integrity of the microvasculature after stent placement. We hypothesized that patients treated with eptifibatide in the Enhanced Suppression of the Platelet IIb/IIIa Receptor with Integrilin Therapy (ESPRIT) trial(1) would have improved CFR after elective stent placement compared with patients receiving placebo. Furthermore, we hypothesized that tissue level perfusion would be improved with eptifibatide therapy, and we assessed the kinetics of myocardial perfusion using digital subtraction angiography.