ABSTRACT
Introduction In patients with coronary artery disease the main goal of intervention is the re-establishment of normal flow to the myocardium. Naturally there is interest in establishing a precise definition of the normal values of coronary flow. Chapter 2 discussed the differences in pattern of flow in the three major coronary arteries and in the left main coronary artery. This chapter reports the results of basal and hyperemic flow velocity measurements obtained in angiographically normal or near-normal arteries in two centers with wide experience of intracoronary Doppler. Since subtle but important differences are present in the methodology used and in the clinical characteristics of the patients studied, no attempts at combination or meta-analysis of data were made.
