Planned versus unplanned rotational atherectomy for plaque modification in severely calcified coronary lesions.

Background: Evidence on the optimal timing of RA is scarce, although increased periprocedural complications for unplanned procedures have been reported.

Aims: To compare planned versus unplanned use of rotational atherectomy (RA) for plaque modification in patients with severely calcified coronary lesions.

Methods: Procedural and 1-year follow-up data of planned (n = 562 lesions in 448 vessels of 416 patients) and unplanned (n = 490 lesions in 435 vessels of 403 patients) RA between 2008 and 2020 were analyzed using the propensity score methods.