Relationship between coronary blood flow velocity waveform and transmural distribution of myocardial blood flow in coronary artery

It is important to know the transmural distribution of myocardial blood flow in assessing the severity of ischemia in coronary heart disease. We analyzed the relation between phasic waveform of epicardial coronary flow velocity with a Doppler flow probe in the left anterior descending artery in dogs and regional myocardial blood flow using a colored microsphere technique. Time-velocity integral in an average of 5 cardiac cycles was measured as an index of coronary blood flow during diastole (TVld) and systole (TVIs). The diastolic fraction of coronary blood flow (%DF) was defined as TVId/(TVId + TVIs). Myocardial specimens were divided into inner (subendocardial), middle, and outer (subepicardial) layers, and the inner layer to outer layer myocardial blood flow ratio (endo/epi ratio) was used as an index of transmural distribution of myocardial perfusion. The mean endo/epi ratio and the mean %DF decreased as the pressure gradient increased. There was a moderate but significant correlation (r = 0.57) between the endo/epi ratio and the %DF. In conclusion, analysis of the phasic pattern of coronary blood flow velocity provides some information about the transmural distribution of blood flow in the myocardium. The %DF may be a useful index for evaluating subendocardial ischemia.