Los Angeles, Calif. - William Dumbauld, a 75-year old Rossmoor (Los Alamitos) resident and retired Los Angeles Police Department officer, is no stranger to life-threatening heart maladies. Having endured the passing of both parents and several aunts and uncles to heart attacks, Dumbauld did not want to suffer a similar fate after being diagnosed with Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). In 2010, he underwent a stent procedure for one blocked artery and was recently diagnosed with another blockage in a different artery after taking a nuclear stress test. With the artery being nearly 80 percent blocked, his long-time cardiologist, Dr. Guy Mayeda of Good Samaritan Hospital, recommended a new device called the Diamondback 360® Coronary Orbital Atherectomy System (OAS) to sand and pulverize the large amount of calcification that had formed.

Spearheaded by Dr. Mayeda, the Heart & Vascular Center at Good Samaritan Hospital recently became the first facility on the West Coast to use the Diamondback 360® Coronary OAS from Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (CSI). This technology is the first evidence-based, safe device approved by the FDA for treating severely calcified coronary lesions.

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is a life-threatening condition and leading cause of death in men and women in the United States. CAD occurs when a fatty material called plaque builds up on the walls of arteries that supply blood to the heart. The plaque buildup causes the arteries to harden and narrow (atherosclerosis), reducing blood flow. The risk of CAD increases if a person has one or more of the following: high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels, diabetes, or family history of early heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, 16.3 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with CAD.
The Diamondback 360® Coronary OAS uses a patented combination of differential sanding and centrifugal force to reduce arterial calcium that can cause complications when treating CAD. Arterial calcium is a common occurrence in patients with severe vascular disease, with moderate to severe arterial calcium present in nearly 40 percent of patients undergoing a percutaneous coronary intervention in the U.S.

"This new technology provides patients undergoing coronary intervention on severely calcified arteries the first ever treatment approved by the FDA for this high risk patient population," explains Dr. Mayeda. "For patients like Mr. Dumbauld, this Roto-Rooter-like device helps the cardiologist safely remove most of the calcium build-up and thereby facilitate both the delivery and expansion of a stent within the blocked coronary artery."

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