The comparative value of the aortic atherosclerosis and the coronary flow velocity reserve evaluated by stress transesophageal echocardiography in the prediction of patients with aortic stenosis with coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: The present study was conducted to examine whether it is possible to differentiate patients with aortic stenosis (AOS) with or without significant stenosis of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) on the basis of the age, gender, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, the coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) and the grade of aortic atherosclerosis (AA) evaluated by TEE in the course of the same semi-invasive examination. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-nine consecutive AOS patients who had undergone coronary angiography were examined by dipyridamole stress TEE to assess the CFVR. From this patient population, 21 AOS patients with anatomically normal coronary arteries (group 1), and 18 AOS patients with > 75% stenosis of the LAD (group 2) were selected for the present study. The CFVR was calculated as the ratio of the average peak diastolic flow velocity (APV) during hyperemia to the resting APV. The grade of AA in the descending aorta was determined by means of the same TEE examination.
RESULTS: The demographic, clinical and transthoracic echocardiographic data, the coronary flow velocities and the CFVRs were similar in the two patient groups. Only the grade of AA (ROC area, 73%, p < 0.02) appears useful for the distinction of AOS patients with or without significant LAD stenosis.
CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that only the grade of AA furnishes additional help in the prediction of AOS patients with severe LAD disease. CFVR has no any diagnostic power in the differentiation of AOS patients with or without significant LAD stenosis.