Severely calcified coronary artery lesions: focus on interventional management

Severe coronary artery calcifications remain a challenge for the contemporary interventional cardiologist in the light of the growing demand for diagnostic procedures and interventions in elderly patients; in addition, the general prognostic improvement after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is expanding the indications to PCI to increasingly complex anatomies. In the last decade, a renewed interest in the treatment of calcific lesions has been observed, with the aim to optimize the mechanic effects of balloon angioplasty and the expansion and apposition of DES to the vessel wall. However, patients with calcific coronary artery disease represent a subset with a high risk of adverse outcomes, both intra-procedural and in the long-term. The need to guarantee a targeted and tailored treatment based on the coronary anatomy of any individual patient is a current priority of the interventional community. The efficacy of rotational atherectomy in improving procedural success for the treatment of calcified lesions has been widely demonstrated. The advent of new technologies -especially of intravascular lithotripsy (IVL)-, the application of techniques and materials initially developed for as complex procedures as chronic total occlusions (CTO), the increasing experience of contemporary operators and the introduction of latest generation drug-eluting stents (DES) with excellent technical and structural properties, are further contributing to improving outcomes of current PCI for calcific lesions.