Microcirculation

Blood flow

Positron emission tomography

Coronary anatomy

Myocardial infarction

Myocardial perfusion imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging

Cardiology

Emission computed tomography

Coronary atherosclerosis

Artery

Coronary flow reserve

Coronary arteries

Coronary angiography

Internal medicine

Radiology

Coronary circulation

Coronary artery disease

Perfusion

Medicine

Circulation Cardiovascular Imaging

A healthy, functional microcirculation in combination with nonobstructed epicardial coronary arteries is the prerequisite of normal myocardial perfusion. Quantitative assessment in myocardial perfusion and determination of absolute myocardial blood flow can be achieved noninvasively using dynamic imaging with multiple imaging modalities. Extensive evidence supports the clinical value of noninvasively assessing indices of coronary flow for diagnosing coronary microvascular dysfunction; in certain diseases, the degree of coronary microvascular impairment carries important prognostic relevance. Although, currently positron emission tomography is the most commonly used tool for the quantification of myocardial blood flow, other modalities, including single-photon emission computed tomography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and myocardial contrast echocardiography, have emerged as techniques with great promise for determination of coronary microvascular dysfunction. The following review will describe basic concepts of coronary and microvascular physiology, review available modalities for dynamic imaging for quantitative assessment of coronary perfusion and myocardial blood flow, and discuss their application in distinct forms of coronary microvascular dysfunction.

Quantitative Assessment of Coronary Microvascular Function