Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS)

As part of a cardiac catheterization, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) uses a long, narrow, flexible tube (or catheter) attached to a transducer, which creates sound waves from within the heart to create real-time images to diagnose and treat heart disease. The catheter and transducer are threaded through an artery and into the heart. Sound waves then echo off the walls of the artery, and are converted into images on a monitor. IVUS allows cardiologists to classify the composition of plaque build-up in arteries and identify patients who are at greater risk for a massive heart attack. This breakthrough technology is available only at the Providence Heart & Vascular Institute. By giving cardiologists clear pictures of a patient's plaque composition, doctors can identify the percentages of "vulnerable" and "non-vulnerable" plaque in a clogged artery.

"Vulnerable" plaque, which is missed by conventional diagnostic tests, builds up in the wall of coronary arteries and is filled with necrotic plaque, a volatile tissue that can lead to a rupture in the artery. This type of plaque build-up can result in a massive heart attack, which can be fatal at least 50 percent of the time. Non-vulnerable plaque, on the other hand, poses less of an immediate threat to arteries. The IVUS technology can also assist cardiologists in their decisions to stent a partially blocked artery or make other corrective actions to the heart.

With the ability to have a real-time assessment of the plaque composition of a partially blocked artery, cardiologists can make decisions based on the percentage of "vulnerable" plaque in the artery.