Background: The diagnostic yield of invasive coronary angiography (ICA) in patients with chronic coronary syndromes (CCS) in contemporary practice is uncertain.
Aims: We investigated the value of an advanced invasive diagnosis (AID) strategy combining angiography and intracoronary testing.
Methods: AID-ANGIO is an all-comers, prospective, multicentre study enrolling CCS patients referred for ICA. Obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) was investigated with angiography and pressure guidewires. In the absence of obstructive CAD, intracoronary testing for ischaemia with non-obstructive coronary arteries (INOCA) was performed. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with a cause of ischaemia identified by the AID strategy. To assess the effect of AID on decision-making, an initial therapeutic plan was first prepared by clinical cardiologists based on ICA and medical information. Subsequently, based on AID data, a final therapeutic plan was drafted by clinical and interventional cardiologists (Ischaemia Team).
Results: We enrolled 317 patients (44.2% female). Based on ICA, obstructive CAD was diagnosed in 32.2% of patients. With the AID strategy, a cause of myocardial ischaemia was identified in 84.2% (p<0.001): obstructive CAD in 39.1% and INOCA in 45.1%. Only 15.8% of patients did not show any abnormalities. Modification of the original treatment plan with the AID strategy occurred in 59.9% of cases.
Conclusions: In assessing ischaemia-generating coronary abnormalities, prespecified use of the AID strategy was associated with a 2.6-fold increase in diagnostic yield compared with ICA (84.2% vs 32.2%, respectively), largely due to the identification of INOCA. Modification of the therapeutic plan with the AID strategy occurred in 59.9% of cases. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05635994).