Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction in the Spotlight at EuroPCR 2025
Jun 19, 2025
EuroPCR 2025 | VahatiCor Symposium Recap
A treatment for coronary microvascular dysfunction is starting to take shape.
Thank you to everyone who filled the room and the overflow space outside for this year’s EuroPCR symposium. The turnout alone speaks volumes about the growing urgency of better diagnosing and treating CMD.
We’re grateful to our outstanding speakers and moderators:
Dr. Bruce Samuels
Dr. Tim van der Hoef
Prof. William Wijns
Prof. Bernard De Bruyne
Dr. Alexandra Lansky
Dr. Francesco Giannini
Dr. Samit Shah
Didn’t catch it live? You can watch the full session here:
Here are just a few standout takeaways, in their own words:
The Diagnostic Challenge
“These patients were treated up to a couple of years ago as if ‘everything is in your head—go home.’ We have to be more complete in our diagnosis.”
— Prof. Bernard De Bruyne
“Having the diagnosis made invasively—or ruling it out—is almost more important than making a positive diagnosis of CMD.”
— Prof. Bernard De Bruyne
Why Coronary Sinus Narrowing Works – Mechanism of Action
“By narrowing the coronary sinus, we increase venous back pressure, leading to microvascular recruitment—measured as a drop in resistance and improved coronary flow reserve.”
“A small 6% increase in microvascular diameter translates into a much larger increase in perfusion surface area.”
“Even a 3 mmHg pressure increase can have a significant physiological effect on myocardial perfusion.”
About the A-FLUX Reducer
“The A-FLUX Reducer is designed to provide symptom relief soon after implantation by directly modifying coronary sinus flow.”
“It’s fully recapturable up to 50% of deployment, and repositioning is a real advantage.”
“Procedure time? Less than 30 minutes. The patient was discharged the next day.”
What Patients Are Experiencing
“We saw angina improve from Canadian Class III to Class I —sustained at 3 and 6 months.”
“Patients are now coming to us asking for this therapy. They’ve heard there’s finally an option.”
“The symptom burden in CMD patients is worse than in obstructive coronary disease, and we haven’t had effective treatment options until now.”
“The symptoms are not always exertional-related. They really can happen at rest, impact quality of life, recurrent admissions, hospitalizations, etc.”
SERRA-I – Next steps
“This is a patient population with high symptom burden. Their SAQ scores are worse than those with obstructive coronary disease.”
“We’ve already identified so many of these patients in our clinics—and they’re waiting for us to provide something.”
“SERRA-I is designed to benchmark efficacy and safety, this is the clinical pathway that could finally bring treatment to these patients.”
Moments from a packed house, global panel, and energized discussion.
The views and opinions expressed by the presenter are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of VahatiCor Inc.
The device is an investigational product, limited by applicable laws and regulations to investigational use only. It is not approved for sale or commercial distribution.