Between 10% and 15% of patients admitted with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction present concurrent coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO) in a non-infarct-related artery, which is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The EXPLORE (Evaluating Xience and Left Ventricular Function in Percutaneous Coronary Intervention on Occlusions After ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction) trial evaluated whether patients admitted…
Chronic total occlusions: Pilot experience with BVS
Original Title: Percutaneous coronary intervention for chronic total occlusion of the coronary artery with implantation of bioresorbable everolimus-eluting scaffolds. Poznan CTO-Absorb Pilot Registry. Reference: Maciej Lesiak, et al EuroIntervention 2016;12:e144-e151 Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Chronic total occlusion (CTO) is a real challenge and have a success rate of around 80% with trained…
Successful recanalization of total occlusion: No improvement of long-term survival
Original Title: Successful Recanalization of Native Coronary Chronic Total Occlusion Is Not Associated With Improved Long-Term Survival. Reference: Pil Hyung Lee et al. J Am Coll Cardiol Intv. 2016. Online before print. The aim of this study was to assess long term clinical outcomes after successful recanalization of chronic total occlusion (CTO) with DES…