Using Shockwave technology to treat calcified coronary artery disease
Official title: Prospective, Multicenter, Single-Arm, Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) Study of the Shockwave Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL) System With the Shockwave Javelin Coronary IVL Catheter (FORWARD CAD IDE Study)
Run by Shockwave Medical, Inc. · NCT06662500 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study is testing a new shockwave treatment to see if it can safely help people with hard, calcified arteries feel better before they get stents.
Quick facts
| Study type | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Ages | 18 Years and up |
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 408 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | Shockwave Medical, Inc. Industry-sponsored |
| Locations | 34 sites (La Jolla, California and 33 other locations) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | April 4, 2025 |
| Main results expected | December 8, 2025 |
| Study ends | December 2027 |
| Registry record updated | August 3, 2026 |
| Trial ID | NCT06662500 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a good fit
Ideal candidates include adults aged 18 and older with moderate-to-severe calcified coronary artery lesions suitable for non-emergent percutaneous coronary intervention.
✕Probably not a fit
Patients with emergent conditions or those with severe angina at rest may not benefit from this study.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
What this trial studies
The FORWARD CAD IDE Study evaluates the safety and effectiveness of the Shockwave Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL) System with the Javelin Coronary IVL Catheter for treating calcified, stenotic coronary artery lesions prior to stenting. This multicenter, single-arm study aims to enroll up to 158 subjects with moderate-to-severe calcification in their coronary arteries. The catheter is designed to modify calcium in difficult lesions, enhancing vessel compliance and facilitating further treatment options. The study will be conducted across 35 sites, focusing on patients with stable angina or those stabilized after acute coronary syndrome.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could significantly improve treatment outcomes for patients with calcified coronary artery disease.
How similar studies have gone: Other studies utilizing intravascular lithotripsy have shown promising results, indicating potential success for this approach.
Who can join: the full rules
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
General Inclusion Criteria:
1. Subject is ≥18 years of age
2. Subject is able and willing to comply with all assessments in the study.
3. Subjects with native coronary artery disease including stable angina or following stabilization after acute coronary syndromes (ACS) for non-emergent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)
4. Biomarkers (troponin) must be:
1. less than or equal to the upper limit of lab normal within 24 hours prior to the procedure or may be drawn from the side port of the sheath at the time of index if the PCI is a non-emergent procedure and has stable angina (result will not be known prior to procedure); OR
2. if above the upper limit of lab normal, biomarker result must be less than 5 times the upper limit of lab normal within 24 hours prior to the procedure and the following criteria must be met: • The procedure must not be emergent and the subject cannot have angina at rest.
5. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) \>30% within 6 months (note: in the case of an event (MI or Revascularization) the LVEF must be taken post-event and in the case of multiple assessments of LVEF, the measurement closest to enrollment will be used for this criterion; may be assessed at time of index procedure).
6. Subject, or legally authorized representative, signs a written Informed Consent form to participate in the study, prior to any study-mandated procedures.
7. Estimated life expectancy \>1 year.
8. Lesions in non-target vessels requiring PCI may be treated either:
1. \>30 days prior to the study procedure if the procedure was unsuccessful or complicated; OR
2. \>24 hours prior to the study procedure if the procedure was successful and uncomplicated (defined as a final lesion angiographic diameter stenosis \<30% and TIMI 3 flow (visually assessed) for all non-target lesions and vessels without perforation, cardiac arrest or need for defibrillation or cardioversion or hypotension/heart failure requiring mechanical or intravenous hemodynamic support or intubation, and no evidence of elevated biomarkers post-procedure; OR
3. \>30 days after the study procedure
Angiographic Inclusion Criteria
9. The target lesion must be a de novo coronary lesion that has not been previously treated successfully with any interventional procedure
10. Single de novo target lesion stenosis of protected LMCA, or LAD, RCA or LCX (or of their branches)
11. The target vessel reference diameter must be ≥2.5 mm and ≤4.0 mm
12. The target lesion must meet one of the following criteria:
1. Target lesion stenosis \>90% up to 40 mm in length and evidence of moderate or severe calcification at the lesion site. Moderate calcification defined as angiography with densities noted only during the cardiac cycle prior to contrast injection; severe calcification defined as angiography with fluoroscopic radio-opacities noted without cardiac motion prior to contrast injection involving both sides of the arterial wall; OR
2. Chronic total occlusion presenting with J-CTO score of 1 with evidence of calcification and occlusion length up to 20 mm.
13. Guidewire must be in true lumen, distal to the lesion, and not subintimal, prior to insertion of Shockwave Javelin Coronary IVL catheter (antegrade wire technique only)
General Exclusion Criteria:
1. Any comorbidity or condition which may prevent compliance with this protocol, including follow-up visits
2. Subject is participating in another research study involving an investigational agent including pharmaceutical, biologic, or medical device that has not reached the primary endpoint
3. Subject is pregnant or nursing (a negative pregnancy test is required for women of child-bearing potential within 7 days prior to enrollment)
4. Unable to tolerate antiplatelet/anticoagulation therapy per society guidelines
5. Subject has an allergy to imaging contrast media which cannot be adequately pre-medicated
6. Subject experienced an acute STEMI within 30 days prior to index procedure
7. New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III or IV heart failure
8. Subject has acute or chronic renal disease with eGFR \<30 ml/min/1.73m2 (using institutional formula)
9. History of a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) within 60 days, or any prior intracranial hemorrhage or permanent neurologic deficit
10. Active peptic ulcer or upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding within 3 months
11. Untreated pre-procedural hemoglobin \<10 g/dL or intention to refuse blood transfusions if one should become necessary
12. Coagulopathy, including but not limited to platelet count \<100,000 or International Normalized ratio (INR) \>1.7 (INR is only required in subjects who have taken warfarin within 2 weeks of enrollment)
13. Subject has a hypercoagulable disorder such as polycythemia vera, platelet count \>750,000 or other disorders
14. Subject has an active systemic infection on the day of the index procedure with either fever, leukocytosis or requiring intravenous antibiotics
15. Subjects with clinical evidence of cardiogenic shock
16. Uncontrolled severe hypertension (systolic BP \>180 mm Hg or diastolic BP \>110 mm Hg)
17. Subjects with an estimated life expectancy of less than 1 year
18. Non-coronary interventional or surgical structural heart procedures (e.g., TAVR, MitraClip, LAA or PFO occlusion, etc.) within 30 days prior to the index procedure
19. Planned non-coronary interventional or surgical structural heart procedures (e.g., TAVR, MitraClip, LAA or PFO occlusion, etc.) within 30 days after the index procedure
20. Subject refusing or not a candidate for emergency coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery
21. Planned use of atherectomy, scoring or cutting balloon, sub-intimal reentry device, or any investigational device other than coronary IVL
Angiographic Exclusion Criteria
22. Unprotected left main diameter stenosis \>30%
23. Evidence of a serious angiographic complication in the target vessel prior to treatment with coronary IVL (dissection, perforation, abrupt closure, persistent slow-flow or persistent no reflow)
24. Definite or possible thrombus by angiography in the target vessel
25. Evidence of aneurysm in target vessel within 10 mm of the target lesion
26. Second lesion with \>50% stenosis in the same target vessel as the target lesion including its side branches
27. Chronic total occlusion of the target lesion, J-CTO ≥2
28. Target lesion is located in a native vessel that can only be reached by going through a saphenous vein or arterial bypass graft
29. Previous stent within 5 mm of the target lesion
30. Failure to successfully cross the guidewire across the target lesion
31. Planned use of antegrade dissection and reentry (ADR), retrograde guidewire (RW), or retrograde dissection and reentry (RDR) crossing technique at any time during the procedure.
Where it's running
-
Scripps Health
La Jolla, California, United States Recruiting -
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, California, United States Recruiting -
South Denver Cardiology Associates, P.C
Littleton, Colorado, United States Recruiting -
Hartford Hospital
Hartford, Connecticut, United States Recruiting -
Medstar Washington Hospital Center
Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States Recruiting -
The Cardiac and Vascular Institute
Gainesville, Florida, United States Recruiting
Show 28 more locations
-
Piedmont Heart Institute
Atlanta, Georgia, United States Recruiting -
Emory University Hospital
Atlanta, Georgia, United States Recruiting -
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, United States Recruiting -
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, United States Recruiting -
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, Massachusetts, United States Recruiting -
Minneapolis Heart Institute
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States Recruiting -
NYU Langone Health
New York, New York, United States Recruiting -
Columbia University Medical Center/New York Presbyterian Hospital
New York, New York, United States Recruiting -
Lenox Hill Hospital
New York, New York, United States Recruiting -
St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center
Roslyn, New York, United States Recruiting -
NC Heart and Vascular Research, LLC
Raleigh, North Carolina, United States Recruiting -
The Christ Hospital
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States Recruiting -
Providence St. Vincent
Portland, Oregon, United States Recruiting -
Wellspan York Hospital
York, Pennsylvania, United States Recruiting -
Centennial Heart
Nashville, Tennessee, United States Recruiting -
Baylor Scott & White Research Institute Dallas
Dallas, Texas, United States Recruiting -
Houston Methodist Hospital
Houston, Texas, United States Recruiting -
Baylor Scott and White - The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano
Plano, Texas, United States Recruiting -
Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States Recruiting -
Overlake Medical Center
Bellevue, Washington, United States Recruiting -
Swedish Medical
Seattle, Washington, United States Recruiting -
University of Washington Medical Center
Seattle, Washington, United States Recruiting -
Basildon University Hospital
Basildon, UK, United Kingdom Recruiting -
Bristol Heart Institute
Bristol, UK, United Kingdom Recruiting -
Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust
Leeds, UK, United Kingdom Recruiting -
Glenfield Hospital
Leicester, UK, United Kingdom Recruiting -
St. Thomas Hospital
London, UK, United Kingdom Recruiting -
St. George's Hospital
London, UK, United Kingdom Recruiting
Study contacts
- Principal investigator: Robert W Yeh, M.D., M.Sc, M.B.A — Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Randee Randoll
- Email: RRandoll@its.jnj.com
- Phone: 408-577-7856
Similar studies
Other studies for the same condition or treatment. Recruiting studies are listed first.
-
Red grape juice and metabolism in men with coronary disease
Researchers will test whether daily red grape juice changes the blood metabolite profile in men with chronic coronary artery disease.
-
Edoxaban vs. Apixaban in AF with CAD: Net Benefit
This trial tests whether edoxaban-based therapy provides a similar or better overall benefit than apixaban-based therapy for stroke prevention and major bleeding in adults with atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease.
-
Revascularization of Calcified Coronary Arteries
This study tests whether measuring blood flow and pressure before and after ballooning or stenting of calcified coronary arteries can help predict how well the procedure will work for adults with heart disease.
-
OPN Balloon Use for Recanalization of Calcified Coronary Lesions
This registry tests how the SIS-OPN balloon is used in real-world patients with calcified coronary disease who have undergone PCI in North America.
-
Pulse IVL to open calcified coronary vessels in CAD
A small, early feasibility study tests the Pulse Intravascular Lithotripsy system in adults with coronary artery disease to see if it can safely open calcified arteries and improve vessel compliance.
-
Crystalline sirolimus-coated balloon for treating coronary artery disease
This tests whether a crystalline sirolimus-coated balloon is safe and effective for adults having percutaneous coronary intervention for coronary artery blockages or in-stent restenosis.
How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.