Prognostic impact of fractional flow reserve measurements in patients with acute coronary syndromes: a subanalysis of the FLORIDA study

Randomized trials suggest benefits for fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided vs. angiography-guided treatment strategies in well-defined and selected patient cohorts with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). The long-term prognostic value of FFR measurement in unselected all-comer ACS patients, however, remains unknown. This subanalysis of the Fractional FLOw Reserve In cardiovascular DiseAses (FLORIDA) study sought to investigate the long-term effects of FFR in the management of lesions in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). FLORIDA was an observational all-comer cohort study performed in Germany, that was population-based and unselected. Patients enrolled into the anonymized InGef Research Database presenting with ACS and undergoing coronary angiography between January 2014 and December 2015 were included in the analysis. Patients were stratified into either the FFR-guided or the angiography-guided treatment arm, based on the treatment received. A matched cohort study design was used. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality. The secondary endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), a composite of death, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), and repeat revascularization. Follow-up time was 3 years. Rates of 3-year mortality were 10.2 and 14.0% in the FFR-guided and the angiography-guided treatment arms ( p = 0.04), corresponding to a 27% relative risk reduction for FFR in ACS patients. Rates of MACE were similar in both arms (47.7 vs. 51.5%, p = 0.14), including similar rates of non-fatal MI (27.7 vs. 25.4%, p = 0.47) and revascularization (9.9 vs. 12.1%, p = 0.17). In this large, all-comer observational study of ACS patients, FFR-guided revascularization was associated with a lower mortality at 3 years. This finding encourages the routine use of FFR to guide lesion revascularization in patients presenting with ACS.