Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL)
Holzer Cardiovascular Services offers Shockwave Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL) to treat patients with coronary artery disease and peripheral artery disease.
- Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) is the narrowing or blockage of the vessels that carry blood from the heart to the legs. PAD is normally caused by the buildup of fatty plaque in the arteries.
- Coronary artery disease is caused by plaque buildup in the wall of the arteries that supply blood to the heart. Plaque buildup causes the inside of the arteries to narrow over time.
Intravascular Lithotripsy uses sonic pressure waves, also known as shockwaves, that pass through soft arterial tissue and preferentially disrupt calcified plaque by creating a series of micro-fractures. After the calcium has been cracked, the artery can be expanded at low pressure and a stent safely implanted to improve blood flow, with minimal trauma to normal arterial tissue.
The innovative technology is a novel application of lithotripsy, an approach that has been used for decades to safely break up kidney stones. IVL is now commercially available in the United States to treat problematic calcium in the coronary and peripheral arteries, which can reduce blood flow in the heart.
About Shockwave Medical, Inc.
Shockwave is focused on developing and commercializing products intended to transform the way calcified cardiovascular disease is treated. Shockwave aims to establish a new standard of care for the interventional treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease through differentiated and proprietary local delivery of sonic pressure waves for the treatment of calcified plaque, which the company refers to as Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL). IVL is a minimally invasive, easy-to-use and safe way to significantly improve patient outcomes. To view an animation of the IVL procedure and for more information, visit www.shockwavemedical.com.
