Courtesy of SBHCI. Between 16 and 18% of coronary artery lesions in patients with chronic stable CAD are chronic total occlusions (CTO). CTO revascularization could benefit symptomatic patients, but it remains unclear whether such complex procedure is safe in the long run, given the study outcomes on PCI in CAD so far. This study presented…
New ProEducar’s 113 Newsletter
The new ProEducar Educational Newsletter is out for all fellows, interventional trainees, and specialists in hemodynamics seeking to be up to date in their professional practice. This is a special issue on chronic total occlusion (CTO), one of the main current challenges for interventional cardiologists. This comprehensive, extensive work directed by Dr. Gustavo Pedernera includes…
Antianginal Medication Before and After Rechanneling
Escalation or de-escalation of antianginal medication was less common than treatment continuation without change after a chronic total occlusion rechanneling, with little variation according to the site. Further research is needed to identify patients who would benefit (or not) from these drugs and to develop strategies to adjust treatment during follow-up. This work basically tells…
The FDA Affirms Mortality Signs with Paclitaxel Based Devices
Evidently, we are still uncertain. The information goes both ways, even on our own web page, we have been coming and going just like any other publication around the world. After a 2-day debate, the Circulatory System Devices FDA panel has confirmed the tendency to higher mortality with paclitaxel-based devices and is expected to debate…
CTO: in Radial Access with Similar Results to Femoral
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. One of the characteristics of chronic total occlusion (CTO) is the use of two access routes: femoral and radial. The radial approach is safer, but it has not been thoroughly analyzed in this type of PCI. The study looked at 3709 patients undergoing left main percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for…
An Effort Worth Your While: Rechanneling vs. Optimal Medical Treatment in Total Occlusions
Successful rechanneling of a chronic total occlusion (currently around 90%) leads to significant improvement in quality of life and symptom frequency in patients with stable chronic angina compared with optimal medical treatment alone. These results are promising and what we ultimately expected, although symptoms, as a primary endpoint in themselves, are in the eye of…
EuroPCR 2018 | Consistent CTO Study: Rechanneling with Current Techniques and SYNERGY Stents
This observational study included 231 patients from 6 sites who presented chronic total occlusions and underwent rechanneling procedures using currently available techniques, which were successful in 90% of all cases (210 patients). All patients who underwent successful rechanneling received a SYNERGY stent and most of them underwent intravascular ultrasound (90.5%). There was only 1 patient lost to clinical follow-up…
International Conference: Coronary Angioplasty in Chronic Occlusions
The Buenos Aires Cardiovascular Institute (Instituto Cardiovascular de Buenos Aires, ICBA) is pleased to invite you to the International Conference on Coronary Angioplasty in Chronic Occlusions that will be held on March 13th at the ICBA auditorium (Blanco Encalada 1525, 1st floor, Buenos Aires City). The highlight of the event is the participation of…
Dyspnea and Chronic Total Occlusion: A Symptom That We Can (Attempt to) Improve
Dyspnea is one of the most challenging symptoms as regards its assessment and treatment in patients with coronary disease, since it may stem from both cardiac and non-cardiac causes. Patients in whom dyspnea is the sole symptom of coronary disease are at a higher risk of not receiving adequate treatment, and their short- and long-term…
6 articles on Total Chronic Occlusions that you can not stop reading
1) Radiation Exposure in Chronic Total Occlusions Even in the hands of experienced operators, rechanneling and angioplasty of a chronic total occlusion (CTO) results in patients and the whole cath lab team receiving high doses of radiation, according to this registry presented at the American Heart Association 2017 Scientific Sessions. Read more 2) Should We Begin to Use IVUS in CTO?…