Coronary Artery Calcification: Intracoronary Imaging, Contemporary Technologies of Treatment

Abstract

HighlightsThis review presents current state-of-the-art of diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery calcification. AbstractCoronary artery calcification occurs in about one third of all coronary artery lesions in patients with coronary artery diseases and is a problem in interventional cardiology due to technical difficulties. Percutaneous coronary intervention for coronary artery calcification is associated with a high risk of perioperative complications, adverse cardiovascular events in early and long-term follow-up compared with the results of treatment of patients without arterial calcification. One of the most important predictors of a favorable outcome after implantation of a drug-eluting stent is the optimal cross-sectional area of coronary stent. Intravascular imaging plays an important role in lesion assessment, selection of instruments and optimization of stent implantation, contemporary technologies modification of severe coronary artery calcification, as well as their combination, will probably lead to better procedural success and long-term results.