The lower ratio of coronary artery volume to myocardial mass in both current and former smokers compared with never-smokers is driven by greater myocardial mass, according to research from Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging.
In a healthy heart, coronary arteries deliver oxygenated blood as the myocardium demands it. But when arteries narrow with atherosclerosis, the supply and demand become mismatched. In conditions of increased oxygen need, this mismatch raises the risk of myocardial ischemia.
The ratio of coronary artery lumen volume-to-myocardial mass (V/M) is a promising marker of cardiac supply-demand mismatch. It can be calculated with CT fractional flow reserve (FFR), a minimally invasive procedure that provides a 3D view of the heart and detects limitations in blood flow due to blockages in the…