University of Iowa Healthcare announced that its Heart & Vascular Team has become the first in the state to perform a procedure that uses sonic pressure waves to break up calcium buildup in heart arteries. The procedure, called intravascular lithotripsy, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in February to treat severely calcified coronary artery disease. Coronary stent procedures are commonly used to treat coronary artery disease, the leading cause of death in Americans. However, about 10% of coronary artery disease patients seen at UI Health Care have severe calcium buildup in their artery walls, which can reduce the effectiveness of stents and may limit treatment alternatives. Intravascular lithotripsy provides an additional treatment option for more complex coronary artery disease cases with severe calcium buildup. More details about the new procedure can be found in this UI Healthcare news article.