TCT 2015: HeartFlow’s CT-based FFR lowers costs, improves quality of life

A non-invasive test of cardiac function made by HeartFlow lowered the cost of care and delivered improved quality of life scores compared to standard care, according to a study presented yesterday at the annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics conference.

HeartFlow’s FFR_CT test uses data from a standard CT scan to create a 3D map of the changes in blood flow as it passes across a coronary lesion. Results from the 584-patient Platform trial showed that the costs associated with planned angiography and the FFR_CT procedure were 32% lower than the cost of angiography alone ($7,343 vs. $10,734).

Although there was no significant difference between the cost of standard noninvasive testing and standard testing with FFR_CT ($2,679 vs. $2,137), quality-of-life scores improved more in FFR_CT patients in the non-invasive testing arm, according to the study.

Earlier results from the Platform study, released last month at the European Society of Cardiology Congress conference, showed that use of the HeartFlow technology cut the rate of invasive angiography without obstructive coronary artery disease from 73% to 12%.

“Non-invasive coronary angiography with cardiac CT is very sensitive in detecting anatomic abnormalities, but does not evaluate whether the lesion seen by CT is actually impeding coronary blood flow,” lead investigator Dr. Mark Hlatky, of the Stanford University School of Medicine, said in prepared remarks. “Our study suggests that the information about the effects of lesions on blood flow that is provided by FFRCT could reduce the use of invasive coronary angiography, and thereby reduce costs, in patients who otherwise would have been scheduled for invasive procedures.”

“We developed FFRCT with the goal of not only improving clinical care and patient outcomes, but also driving down costs by helping to ensure that invasive procedures were reserved only for the patients who needed them,” added HeartFlow chairman & CEO Dr. John H. Stevens. “It is gratifying to see the promise of our technology repeatedly validated through clinical trials.”

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