Coronary sinus flow measured by pulsed Doppler ultrasound is a powerful indicator of coronary blood supply- a pig heart in vitro study.

AIMS To evaluate the correlation between the coronary sinus flow and the infusion volume in the coronaries and assess the performance of coronary sinus flow in predicting coronary artery occlusion in an isolated pig heart. MATERIAL AND METHODS The coronary sinus flow was measured in 16 isolated pig hearts by pulsed Doppler ultrasound. The correlation between the coronary sinus flow and the infusion volume in different coronary artery was analyzed, and the performance of coronary sinus flow in predicting different coronary artery occlusion was deducted. RESULTS There were no statistically significant differences between the coronary sinus flow and the infusion volume in different coronary artery (p>0.05). The correlations between the coronary sinus flow and the infusion volume in left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD), left circumflex coronary artery (LCX), LAD and LCX, and LAD, LCX and right coronary artery (RCA) were all higher than 0.85 (p<0.01), and those of RCA, LAD and RCA, and LCX and RCA were between 0.6 and 0.8 (p<0.05). The areas under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) were all higher than 0.90 (p<0.05) in predicting any two coronaries occlusion (<50% and 100%) and three coronaries occlusion (<50%) with a >85% sensitivity and specificity. Excepting RCA mild occlusion (<50%), AUCs in predicting one coronary occlusion (<50％ and 100%) were between 0.7 and 0.9, with >80% sensitivity and specificity. Conclusions The coronary sinus flow measured by pulsed Doppler ultrasound can effectively and exactly reflect the infusion volume in coronaries, which is a powerful indicator of coronary blood supply.