Abstract
Coronary artery calcification makes percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) more difficult: device delivery is impaired, stent underexpansion is common, and long-term outcomes are worse. This narrative review summarizes evidence published up to 2026, with emphasis on randomized trials, expert consensus documents and meta-analyses, and reports clinical experience with rotational atherectomy at the Vietnam National Heart Institute. Current data support intravascular imaging-guided assessment, device selection based on calcium morphology, and confirmation of adequate lesion preparation before stenting. Intravascular ultrasound and optical coherence tomography provide complementary information on calcium arc, length, thickness and nodular morphology. In ECLIPSE, routine orbital atherectomy offered no benefit in lesions suitable for either strategy, whereas CALIPSO and BALI supported OCT-guided lesion preparation and intravascular lithotripsy, respectively. In an initial single-centre series of 35 patients (36 lesions) treated with rotational atherectomy, procedural success was 97.2%, with no perforation or burr entrapment and no major adverse cardiac events at 3 months; transient bradycardia and hypotension were the most frequent periprocedural events. Most reported benefits of calcium modification devices remain procedural or imaging-based, and data on mortality and myocardial infarction are limited. Open questions include standardized criteria for adequate lesion preparation, tailored device combinations and long-term clinical outcomes.