Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-9-2026
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The prognostic value of baseline Quantitative Flow Ratio (QFR) in real-world patients remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of baseline QFR and its three-tier model-low, grey-zone, and high QFR-in patients with single-vessel intermediate stenosis.
METHODS: This retrospective study included 478 patients with QFR between 0.70 and 0.90 who underwent coronary angiography between May and June 2023. Patients were stratified into Low (0.70-0.74), Grey-Zone (0.75-0.85), and High (0.86-0.90) QFR groups. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiac events (MACE); the key secondary endpoint was target vessel failure (TVF). Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate outcomes.
RESULTS: During the 18-month follow-up period, MACE incidence was 13.5%, 6.6%, and 3.4% in Low, Grey-Zone, and High QFR groups, respectively (P = 0.008), mainly driven by MI (3.2% vs. 1.4% vs. 0.0%, P = 0.029) and ischemia-driven revascularization (11.5% vs. 6.1% vs. 2.3%, P = 0.004), including ID-TVR (6.7% vs. 3.3% vs. 1.1%, P = 0.027). Each 0.01 increase in QFR was associated with a 7.23% lower risk of MACE (P = 0.012) and a 10.04% lower risk of ID-TVR (P = 0.011). Multivariate analysis confirmed QFR group as an independent predictor, with a per-category decrease from High to Low QFR associated with an 86% higher risk of MACE (adjusted HR = 1.858, 95% CI 1.038-3.326, P = 0.037) and a 2.33-fold higher risk of ID-TVR (adjusted HR = 2.333, 95% CI 1.004-5.510, P = 0.049).
CONCLUSIONS: Baseline QFR and its three-tier stratification across the grey-zone and adjacent ranges show a continuous association with adverse events in single-vessel intermediate coronary stenosis, supporting its role in functional evaluation, risk stratification, and prognostic prediction.
Recommended Citation
Lu, Yanfeng; AlQazzaz, Abdulrahman; Bao, Jasmine; Mintz, Gary S.; Feng, Jiahao; Zhang, Yong; Gao, Shanshan; Song, Qiang; Ning, Feifei; Huang, Xin; and Guo, Ning, "Prognostic Value of Baseline QFR in Single-Vessel Intermediate Coronary Stenosis" (2026). Student Papers, Posters & Projects. Paper 190.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/student_papers/190
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Language
English
Comments
This article, first published by Frontiers Media, is the author’s final published version in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, Volume 12, 2026, Article number 1726729.
The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2025.1726729. Copyright © 2026 Lu, AlQazzaz, Bao, Mintz, Feng, Zhang, Gao, Song, Ning, Huang and Guo.