{"id":998737,"date":"2026-08-28T02:51:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T06:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/late-breaking-data-from-independent-government-funded-trial-at-esc-shows-heartflow-ffrct-analysis-reduces-unnecessary-invasive-heart-procedures-by-nearly-half\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T02:51:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T06:51:16","slug":"late-breaking-data-from-independent-government-funded-trial-at-esc-shows-heartflow-ffrct-analysis-reduces-unnecessary-invasive-heart-procedures-by-nearly-half","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/late-breaking-data-from-independent-government-funded-trial-at-esc-shows-heartflow-ffrct-analysis-reduces-unnecessary-invasive-heart-procedures-by-nearly-half\/","title":{"rendered":"Late Breaking Data from Independent Government-Funded Trial at ESC Shows Heartflow FFRCT Analysis Reduces Unnecessary Invasive Heart Procedures by Nearly Half"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nFUSION trial presented at ESC and published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology demonstrates adding non-invasive lesion-specific physiology resolves critical diagnostic uncertainty, supporting Appropriate Use Criteria for cath lab referrals
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SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Heartflow, Inc. (Heartflow) (Nasdaq: HTFL), the leader in AI technology for diagnosing and managing coronary artery disease (CAD), today announced late-breaking one-year results from an independent randomized clinical trial proving the Heartflow FFRCT<\/sub> Analysis safely and significantly reduced unnecessary invasive heart procedures by 44% (p < 0.001).<\/p>\n

Presented as Late-Breaking Science at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2026, FUSION trial, funded by the Dutch National Health Care Institute,\u00a0demonstrates that standard coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) alone drives overutilization of invasive catheterizations.1<\/sup> By adding Heartflow FFRCT<\/sub> Analysis to standard CCTA scans, clinicians dramatically reduced diagnostic catheter lab procedures. The FUSION study has been published simultaneously in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC)<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

CCTA is the primary first-line test recommended by both European (ESC) and U.S. (ACC\/AHA) guidelines for evaluating patients with suspected CAD. However, visual assessment of CCTAs is limited to assessing anatomy and whether plaque is present; it cannot determine lesion-specific physiology or whether a blockage significantly restricts blood flow to the heart. This diagnostic uncertainty frequently leads physicians to refer patients for invasive coronary angiography (ICA), a hospital procedure where a catheter is threaded through an artery, normally in the groin or arm, to get into the heart to assess blocked or narrowed blood vessels.1,<\/sup>2<\/sup>,<\/sup>3<\/sup>,<\/sup>4<\/sup><\/p>\n

These findings show Heartflow FFRCT<\/sub> – the only AI platform prospectively validated against invasive gold standard – bridges this critical diagnostic gap. By applying advanced AI and computational fluid dynamics to standard CT scans with documented narrowings, Heartflow creates a personalized 3D model that quantifies blood flow within the coronary arteries.5<\/sup><\/p>\n

\u201cCCTA is established as the optimal first-line diagnostic test for coronary artery disease as it is noninvasive, but when anatomical scans show intermediate stenosis, determining whether that blockage is clinically significant remains a critical challenge,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Alexander Hirsch, M.D., principal investigator of the FUSION trial and associate professor of cardiology at Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, Netherlands. \u201cThe FUSION trial shows that adding Heartflow lesion-specific physiology makes CCTA even more powerful and improves diagnostic efficiency. It gives clinicians the clarity to know which patients require further invasive testing, safely avoiding unnecessary invasive catheterizations while maintaining excellent patient outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n One-Year FUSION Results<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n

Enrolling 528 patients with stable chest pain across twelve hospitals in the Netherlands, FUSION is an independent randomized controlled trial funded through the Dutch government\u2019s Zorginstituut Nederland \u2018Potentially Promising Care\u2019 program. The study evaluated Heartflow FFRCT<\/sub> Analysis across diverse scanner vendors in both academic and community hospital settings, with blinded, independent clinical event adjudication.<\/p>\n

Key 1-year findings include:<\/p>\n