Cardiovascular software developer HeartFlow is touting decisions by Health Care Service Corp. (HCSC) and three Blue Cross/Blue Shield entities to cover the use of its fractional flow reserve (FFR) software.
The HeartFlow FFR-CT Analysis software is designed to help clinicians diagnose and treat patients with suspected coronary artery disease.
HCSC, which operates Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, found that the use of noninvasive FFR following a positive coronary CT angiogram may be considered medically necessary to guide the treatment of patients with stable chest pain at intermediate risk of coronary artery disease.
In addition, Blue Cross/Blue Shield companies in Tennessee, Louisiana, and South Carolina recently issued a medical policy to cover use of the HeartFlow FFR Analysis software, HeartFlow said.
![Images show the pectoralis muscles of a healthy male individual who never smoked (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; body mass index [BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared], 28.4; number of cigarette pack-years, 0; forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1], 97.6% predicted; FEV1: forced vital capacity [FVC] ratio, 0.71; pectoralis muscle area [PMA], 59.4 cm2; pectoralis muscle volume [PMV], 764 cm3) and a male individual with a smoking history and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; BMI, 27.5; number of cigarette pack-years, 43.2, FEV1, 48% predicted; FEV1:FVC, 0.56; PMA, 35 cm2; PMV, 480.8 cm3) from the Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease (i.e., CanCOLD) study. The CT image is shown in the axial plane. The PMV is automatically extracted using the developed deep learning model and overlayed onto the lungs for visual clarity.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/03/genkin.25LqljVF0y.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=focalpoint&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
