Intravascular lithotripsy for lesion preparation in patients with calcific distal left main disease

Abstract

Introduction Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL; Shockwave Medical, Santa Clara, CA, USA) is a new treatment for coronary artery calcification (CAC) that may offer advantages over existing balloon-based therapies and atherectomy devices. Use of IVL in calcific non-left main (LM) disease has been shown to be safe with high acute gain and low residual stenosis1. Similar benefits might be expected in patients with calcific distal LM disease but have yet to be reported. Methods This was a retrospective analysis of all patients with obstructive calcific distal LM (or equivalent) disease treated with IVL in three tertiary centres between ...