Shockwave Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL)

Shockwave Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL), a first-of-its-kind treatment option for advanced heart disease, is available at the Cheyenne Regional Heart & Vascular Institute.

In 2022, Cheyenne Regional Medical Center became the first hospital in Wyoming to use Shockwave technology to safely open a patient’s coronary artery that was blocked due to a buildup of calcified plaque.
(Read the press release here.)

Learn more about the Shockwave Intravascular Lithotripsy system in the video below:

How does IVL treatment work?

As people with heart disease grow older and their disease progresses, plaque in the arteries evolves into calcium deposits, which can narrow the artery.

Physicians often use stents to open an artery, and of the approximately one million patients that undergo a stent procedure each year, 30% have problematic calcium that increases their risk for adverse events.

Calcium makes the artery rigid and more difficult to treat with current technologies, and can result in complications for patients who are undergoing stent procedures.

Using sonic pressure waves, intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) allows cardiologists to safely fracture problematic calcium so that the artery can be expanded. Blood flow is restored with the placement of a stent and without unnecessary complications.