Percutaneous Transcatheter Assessment of the Left Main Coronary Artery : Current Status and Future Directions

Accurate assessment of the left main coronary artery (LMCA) is critical in determining treatment strategies and delineating revascularization options to improve prognosis. There has been an evolution in invasive techniques that allow detailed assessment of both function and anatomy. As technologies advance, there is an increasing amount of evidence supporting the use of percutaneous coronary intervention for the LMCA. This state-of-the-art paper provides an in-depth exploration of intravascular ultrasound, fractional flow reserve, and optical coherence tomography. A discussion is provided that explores the basis for application of these technologies, the body of evidence for each modality and its use in LMCA assessment, and the potential role in post-PCI optimization in what is a dynamically changing field.