Willis Knighton Health has become the first health organization in Louisiana, Arkansas or Mississippi to treat patients with coronary artery disease with AGENT™ drug-coated balloon (DCB). Interventional cardiologist Boshra Louka, MD, FACC, FASCI, with Willis Knighton Cardiology, performed the procedure.

AGENT™ drug-coated balloon is a new treatment option for patients with in-stent restenosis, the narrowing or of an existing stent because of plaque or scar tissue. It is the first drug coated coronary balloon available in the United States. During the minimally invasive procedure, a catheter delivers the balloon through a small incision in the groin into a vein and up to the heart. Once scar tissue is removed from inside the blocked stent, the balloon is inflated to deliver an anti-scar tissue drug, which prevents the blockage from recurring.

“To continue to lead the area in offering cutting edge technology, Willis Knighton has added this unique and game changing tool for treating in-stent restenosis to enhance our ability to help more and more patients,” Dr. Louka said. “These drug coated balloons can simplify many patients’ procedures and improve long-term patency of their coronary arteries. They also deliver options for patients who can’t have or don’t want to have open heart surgery and they offer an option and hope for patients who don’t have any.”

It is estimated that more than 18 million Americans age 20 and older have coronary artery disease. Coronary artery disease is the most common type of heart disease in the United States. It is caused by plaque buildup in the walls of the arteries that supply blood to the heart and other parts of the body.

Every year, more than two million stents are placed in the hearts of U.S. patients to open vessels that have become blocked with plaque due to coronary artery disease, which significantly increases risk of heart attacks, blood clots and heart failure. Over time, 10 percent of stented vessels become blocked from new plaque or scar tissue.