SOVAH HEALTH OFFERS PATIENTS AN IMPROVED TREATMENT FOR HEART DISEASE

Sovah Health, a Duke Health affiliate in heart, recently announced an innovative treatment option for patients with severely calcified coronary artery disease living in southside Virginia. The new technology is an enhanced application of lithotripsy, an approach that uses sonic pressure waves to safely break up kidney stones. It is widely used to treat problematic calcium in the coronary arteries that can reduce blood flow in the heart.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women.^[i] Each year, almost 700,000 people in the United States die of heart disease. For people suffering from heart disease, specifically those with coronary artery disease, as they grow older and as their disease progresses, plaque in the arteries evolves into calcium deposits, which can narrow the artery. Of the approximately one million patients that undergo a stent procedure to open an artery each year, 30 percent have problematic calcium that increases their risk for adverse events.^[ii]

Calcium makes the artery rigid and more difficult to reopen with conventional treatments. The new technology, known as intravascular lithotripsy or IVL, allows physicians to fracture the problematic calcium – using sonic pressure waves – so that the artery can be safely expanded, and blood flow is restored through the placement of a stent with minimal complications.³ The new version of the catheter allows for more complex calcium to be treated with more shock waves per catheter included – up to 120 in each catheter, which will allow physicians to treat longer segments of calcified plaque.

“The cardiology team at Sovah Health is committed to giving our patients access to the latest cardiovascular innovations to treat heart disease,” said Dr. Brian Zagol, board-certified cardiologist at Sovah Heart & Vascular. “Empowered by this novel IVL technology, we are excited to be treating some of the most complex forms of heart disease in our most challenging patient cases, all while remaining committed to improving patient outcomes for the benefit of the community.”

As a Duke Health affiliate in heart, Sovah Health receives the most current training and staff education in regard to heart treatments, in addition to the latest Duke guidelines and heart research.  This affiliation helps Sovah Health deliver a higher standard of care in the community.  

Sovah Health – Danville also holds American College of Cardiology accreditation for Chest Pain, Heart Failure and Cardiac Cath Lab with PCI.

For more information on heart and vascular services available at Sovah Health or to take a free heart health assessment, visit SovahHealth.com/heart-and-vascular.

[i] https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm

[ii] Généreux P, et al. JACC 2014; 63(18);1845-54