Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death in people over 65 years of age. One of the reasons is that, as we age, our arteries harden and lose elasticity, which leads to the appearance of high blood pressure and a process called atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis begins when the endothelium, the innermost layer of the arteries, is damaged. The risk of this damage occurring early increases if you have risk factors such as tobacco use, diabetes, hypertension or high cholesterol levels. “When the endothelium is damaged, macrophages and lymphocytes are introduced, forming an atheromatous plaque, and, over time, this plaque calcifies.
It is part of our aging process: it is common for patients aged 70-80 to have a lot of calcium in their arteries. If, in addition, they have other problems such as kidney failure, the amount of calcium will be even greater, because this disease calcifies the coronary vessels,” explains Dr. Antoni Serra, Hemodynamicist and Interventional Cardiologist. Therefore, age has a great impact on both the genesis of atherosclerosis and calcification. For this reason, as the expert details, “to treat a severely calcified lesion, I need to have tools that allow me to treat it efficiently. For example, if an artery is very calcified, I cannot use an angioplasty balloon to open it and fracture the calcium, allowing the permanent stent to expand when it is implanted.”
Cardiology has been adapting to this type of complex injuries in elderly patients. An example is the Naviscore device, developed by iVascular. “Naviscore is a rapid exchange balloon catheter designed for the pretreatment of calcified lesions through the action of a nitinol structure that is superimposed on the balloon. The characteristic of this matrix will always return to its initial compressed state,” explains Isabel Pérez, director of R&D and devices at iVascular. This nitinol structure consists of four longitudinal rods that run along the surface of the balloon, joined together radially at the ends of the balloon. As Isabel Pérez details, “the rods expand against the artery when the balloon is inflated. Thus, with the balloon inflated they press against the calcium, concentrating a great force on the injury, which causes it to break or open.
Once the injury is opened, the balloon is deflated and the nitinol rods return to their original state on the balloon thanks to this memory material, so that it will always return to its initial compressed state, leaving it with a minimal profile. The balloon can then be removed from the patient and the stent implanted to successfully complete the treatment. The evolution of diseases means that companies, such as iVascular, that develop medical devices, have a great challenge in researching and developing devices that adapt to the needs of cardiovascular diseases.” Companies like iVascular invest in R D i to ensure that the best therapeutic options for healthcare professionals can continue to help patients achieve a long and happy life.
