Intravascular Ultrasound in Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Consensus Document from the UK.

Abstract

Following the recently upgraded recommendations for intravascular imaging use from the European Society of Cardiology and the American Heart Association, we present a UK consensus statement on the use of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in percutaneous coronary intervention. Developed by 26 senior interventional cardiologists across a range of UK centres, this statement reflects growing evidence and changing expectations for IVUS use. We discuss the indications for IVUS, the current patterns of use in the UK, anticipated future standards and the need for broader adoption. We propose a standardised workflow and recommend routine documentation of a core IVUS dataset to support quality and as a mechanism for improvement. Persistent barriers, such as perceived cost, training variability and procedural integration, are addressed with practical solutions, including the introduction of national training curricula incorporating intravascular imaging accreditation for operators and targeted education for allied health professionals. Our goal is to support clinicians, catheter lab teams and service leads in embedding IVUS more consistently into practice to optimise patient outcomes.