Interventional cardiology is evolving rapidly thanks to innovations in advanced imaging, artificial intelligence, and new device designs, according to Dr. Forrest. New tools are making procedures safer, more precise, and accessible to more people. Examples include drug-coated balloons that can help prevent arteries from narrowing again, and next-generation stents that are designed to reduce inflammation and improve healing.
But this evolution has been happening for a while, he adds. For people who have peripheral arterial disease, “the catheters we use in the leg are much smaller today than they were even 10 years ago,” he says. Smaller catheters mean less discomfort and fewer vascular complications, and the ability to treat a wide variety of people. “Because patients have arteries in their legs of varying sizes, we can treat more people with a catheter-based approach.”
One of the biggest breakthroughs is in treating a “leaky” tricuspid valve (which directs blood flow on the right side of the heart). For years, it had so few treatment options that doctors called it “the forgotten valve.” That changed in 2024, when the FDA approved the TriClip G4™, a catheter-placed clip that brings together the tricuspid valve’s leaflets, which can reduce the blood leakage. A similar device called the MitraClip™ is available for the mitral valve, located on the heart’s left side.
Yet another improvement has been around for years: Makers of replacement heart valves have been using a special metal called nitinol, a combination of nickel and titanium. Originally developed by NASA, nitinol can be compressed for delivery through a catheter, then expand to its full shape once inside the warm environment of the body. “When nitinol is cold, you can form it into whatever shape you want, including the shape of a heart valve,” Dr. Forrest says.