Patients with stable coronary artery disease or stabilized acute coronary syndromes with severely calcified de novo coronary stenoses with indication of plaque modification technique during PCI.~Due to differences in the mechanism of action, intravascular lithotripsy is likely to cause less distal embolization and microcirculatory dysfunction during plaque preparation. This may also translate into lower periprocedural myocardial infarction rates.~To perform the invasive physiology assessment an intracoronary pressure and temperature sensor-tipped guidewire is used to measure distal coronary pressure and to derive thermodilution curves. For the calculation of IMR three thermodilution curves can be obtained from a hand-held, 3-ml rapid (<0.25s) injection of room temperature saline at baseline and during maximal hyperemia. Mean transit time (Tmn) at baseline and during maximal hyperemia is derived from the thermodilution curves. Simultaneous recordings of mean aortic pressure (guiding catheter, Pa) and mean distal coronary pressure (distal pressure sensor, Pd) is also obtained at baseline and during maximal hyperemia. The IMR is then calculated using the following equation: IMR = PaxTmn[(Pd-Pw)/(Pa-Pw)], where Pw is the coronary wedge pressure. Pw will be measured as the distal coronary pressure (from the distal pressure and temperature sensor) during complete balloon occlusion of the vessel obtained during PCI.~The aim of the present study is to investigate the protective effect of IVL (Shockwave© Medical) on the coronary microcirculatory during PCI in calcific coronary stenosis, compared to RA.
Due to differences in the mechanism of action, intravascular lithotripsy is likely to cause less distal embolization and microcirculatory dysfunction during plaque preparation. This may also translate into lower periprocedural myocardial infarction rates. Thus, this exploratory study aims to evaluate the microcirculatory function after the use of Shockwave® intravascular lithotripsy.