First in Louisiana

1st in Louisiana: Heart Team Uses

Shockwave - a novel application of lithotripsy

Lake Charles Memorial Hospital is the first hospital in Louisiana to use a new treatment option for patients with severely calcified coronary artery disease. The new technology, Shockwave, is a novel application of lithotripsy, an approach that uses sonic pressure waves in the past to safely break up kidney stones. It’s now available to treat problematic calcium in the coronary arteries that can reduce blood flow in the heart.

“We have actually been using this technology on the peripheral arteries in the body since last year with great success. It recently was granted FDA approval for use in the coronary arteries in February and we began using it right away,” says Memorial Medical Group Interventional Cardiologist Edward Bergen, DO

Dr. Bergen was the first physician at the Heart & Vascular Center at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital to use this device. His partners, interventional cardiologists Hari Bogabathina, MD, Clay Hammett, MD, Christopher Thompson, MD, J. King White, MD, and Kevin Young, MD, will also use the new technology to treat patients.

New Calcified Artery Treatment

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. Each year, more than 600,000 people in the United States die of heart disease. As people with coronary artery disease age and their disease progresses, plaque thickens on the artery wall, which can narrow the artery. Physicians often use stents to open an artery. Of the approximately one million patients that undergo a stent procedure each year, 30 percent have problematic calcium that increases their risk for adverse events.

Calcium makes the artery rigid and more difficult to reopen with conventional treatments, such as a balloon, also known as angioplasty, or an atherectomy. The atherectomy procedure drills through the calcium to open the artery and has been available for several decades. Its use remains low, as it can result in complications for patients who are undergoing stent procedures. The new shockwave technology, also known as intravascular lithotripsy or IVL, allows physicians to fracture the problematic calcium with a balloon and sonic pressure waves. The artery can then be safely expanded and blood flow is restored with the placement of a stent and without unnecessary complications.

“Our team of doctors at Heart & Vascular Center is steadfast in our commitment to give our patients access to the latest cardiovascular innovations to treat heart disease,” Dr. Bergen says. “It is exciting to be starting a new chapter in the treatment of heart disease in some of our most complex patient cases after using the same tools for the last 30 years – especially one that improves the safety of the procedure for the benefit of the community.”

For more information about the Shockwave treatment or to schedule an appointment with a cardiologist, call 337.494.3278 (337.49HEART) or go to www.lcmh.com/heart.

Current Breast Cancer Statistics:Dr. Edward Bergen Dr. Hari Bogabathina

Current Breast Cancer Statistics:Dr. Clay Hammett Dr. Christopher Thompson

Current Breast Cancer Statistics: Dr. J. King White Dr. Kevin Young