For diagnosis and treatment planning of patients with stable coronary artery disease, coronary angiography is of particular importance. Invasive coronary angiography is a robust and accurate method for the identification of coronary artery stenoses and occlusions, with the option for immediate intervention. Due to its invasiveness, its small, but not negligible risk for complications, and the fact that angiographic stenosis severity does not closely correspond with ischaemia, coronary angiography is not a first-line test in patients with suspected coronary artery disease. Invasive coronary angiography should be performed when non-invasive testing indicates the presence of relevant ischaemia, when symptoms are compelling and cannot be controlled by medication, or when symptoms are accompanied by reduced left ventricular ejection fraction. In order to determine the presence or absence of ischaemia, invasive coronary angiography can be complemented by fractional flow reserve measurements. Coronary computed tomography angiography is a non-invasive alternative method to visualize the coronary lumen, but requires careful patient selection, data acquisition, and processing. It is not as stable and robust as invasive coronary angiography. However, the use of coronary computed tomography angiography can be considered in patients with a low-to-intermediate risk for coronary artery disease in order to rule out coronary artery stenoses when patient characteristics indicate a high likelihood of fully diagnostic image quality.
Systematic review of the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of 64-slice or higher computed tomography angiography as an alternative to invasive coronary angiography in the investigation of coronary artery disease
