Chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention of anomalous coronary arteries: insights from the PROGRESS CTO registry.

BACKGROUND: There is limited information about the frequency and outcomes of chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in anomalous coronary arteries (ACA). METHODS: We examined the clinical and angiographic characteristics and procedural outcomes of CTO PCI in ACA among 14,173 patients who underwent 14,470 CTO PCIs at 46 US and non-US centers between 2012 and 2023. RESULTS: Of 14,470 CTO PCIs, 36 (0.24%) were CTO PCIs in an ACA. ACA patients had similar baseline characteristics as those without an ACA. The type of ACA in which the CTO lesion was found were as follows: anomalous origin of the right coronary artery (ARCA) (17, 48.5%), anomalous origin of left circumflex coronary artery (9, 25.7%), left anterior descending artery and left circumflex artery with separate origins (4, 11.4%), anomalous origin of the left anterior descending artery (2, 5.7%), dual left anterior descending artery (2, 5.7%) and woven coronary artery 1 (2.8%). The Japan CTO score was similar between both groups (2.17 ± 1.32 vs 2.38 ± 1.26, p = 0.30). The target CTO in ACA patients was more likely to have moderate/severe tortuosity (44% vs 28%, p = 0.035), required more often use of retrograde approach (27% vs 12%, p = 0.028), and was associated with longer procedure (142.5 min vs 112.00 min [74.0, 164.0], p = 0.028) and fluoroscopy (56 min [40, 79 ml] vs 42 min [25, 67], p = 0.014) time and higher contrast volume (260 ml [190, 450] vs 200 ml [150, 300], p = 0.004) but had similar procedural (91.4% vs 85.6%, p = 0.46) and technical (91.4% vs 87.0%, p = 0.59) success. No major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were seen in ACA patients (0% [0] vs 1.9% [281] in non-ACA patients, p = 1.00). Two coronary perforations were reported in ACA CTO PCI (p = 0.7 vs. non-ACA CTO PCI). CONCLUSIONS: CTO PCI of ACA comprise 0.24% of all CTO PCIs performed in the PROGRESS CTO registry and was associated with higher procedural complexity but similar technical and procedural success rates and similar MACE compared with non-ACA CTO PCI.

Targeting Fibrinolytic Inhibition for Venous Thromboembolism Treatment: Overview of an Emerging Therapeutic Approach.

Venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism (venous thromboembolism) are important causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In patients with venous thromboembolism, thrombi obstruct blood vessels and resist physiological dissolution (fibrinolysis), which can be life threatening and cause chronic complications. Plasminogen activator therapy, which was developed >50 years ago, is effective in dissolving thrombi but has unacceptable bleeding risks. Safe dissolution of thrombi in patients with venous thromboembolism has been elusive despite multiple innovations in plasminogen activator design and catheter-based therapy. Evidence now suggests that fibrinolysis is rigidly controlled by endogenous fibrinolysis inhibitors, including α2-antiplasmin, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, and thrombin-activable fibrinolysis inhibitor. Elevated levels of these fibrinolysis inhibitors are associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism in humans. New therapeutic paradigms suggest that accelerated and effective fibrinolysis may be achieved safely by therapeutically targeting these fibrinolytic inhibitors in venous thromboembolism. In this article, we discuss the role of fibrinolytic components in venous thromboembolism and the current status of research and development targeting fibrinolysis inhibitors.

Emerging Hybrid Intracoronary Imaging Technologies and Their Applications in Clinical Practice and Research.

Intravascular ultrasound and optical coherence tomography are used with increasing frequency for the care of coronary patients and in research studies. These imaging tools can identify culprit lesions in acute coronary syndromes, assess coronary stenosis severity, guide percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and detect vulnerable plaques and patients. However, they have significant limitations that have stimulated the development of multimodality intracoronary imaging catheters, which provide improvements in assessing vessel wall pathology and guiding PCI. Prototypes combining 2 or even 3 imaging probes with complementary attributes have been developed, and several multimodality systems have already been used in patients, with near-infrared spectroscopy intravascular ultrasound-based studies showing promising results for the identification of high-risk plaques. Moreover, postmortem histology studies have documented that hybrid imaging catheters can enable more accurate characterization of plaque morphology than standalone imaging. This review describes the evolution in the field of hybrid intracoronary imaging; presents the available multimodality catheters; and discusses their potential role in PCI guidance, vulnerable plaque detection, and the assessment of endovascular devices and emerging pharmacotherapies targeting atherosclerosis.

Intravascular ICG-enhanced NIRF-IVUS imaging to assess progressive atherosclerotic lesions in excised human coronary arteries.

Indocyanine green (ICG)-enhanced intravascular near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging enhances the information obtained with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) by visualizing pathobiological characteristics of atherosclerotic plaques. To advance our understanding of this hybrid method, we aimed to assess the potential of NIRF-IVUS to identify different stages of atheroma progression by characterizing ICG uptake in human pathological specimens. After excision, 15 human coronary specimens from 13 adult patients were ICG-perfused and imaged with NIRF-IVUS. All specimens were then histopathologically and immunohistochemically assessed. NIRF-IVUS imaging revealed colocalization of ICG-deposition to plaque areas of lipid accumulation, endothelial disruption, neovascularization and inflammation. Moreover, ICG concentrations were significantly higher in advanced coronary artery disease stages (p < 0.05) and correlated significantly to plaque macrophage burden (r = 0.67). Current intravascular methods fail to detect plaque biology. Thus, we demonstrate how human coronary atheroma stage can be assessed based on pathobiological characteristics uniquely captured by ICG-enhanced intravascular NIRF.

Peripheral artery disease in chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background: The impact of peripheral artery disease (PAD) on the outcomes of chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is not well studied. Methods: We analyzed the association of PAD with CTO-PCI outcomes using data from the PROGRESS-CTO registry of procedures performed at 47 centers between 2012 and 2023. Results: The prevalence of PAD among 12 961 patients who underwent CTO PCI during the study period was 13.9% (1802). PAD patients were older, more likely to be current smokers, and had higher rates of dyslipidemia, diabetes, cerebrovascular disease, hypertension, prior myocardial infarction, PCI, and coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Their PROGRESS-CTO (1.35 vs 1.22; P < .001) and J-CTO (2.63 vs 2.33; P < .001) scores were higher, lesion length was longer, and angiographic characteristics were more complex. Their access site was more likely to be bifemoral (33.6% vs 30.9%; P = .024) compared with patients with no PAD. Technical (82.9% vs 87.7%; P < .001) and procedural (80.5% vs 86.6%; P < .001) success rates were lower in patients with PAD, while the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) was higher (3.1% vs 1.8%; P < .001), with higher mortality (0.8% vs 0.4%; P = .034), acute myocardial infarction rate (0.9% vs 0.4%; P = .010), and perforations rate (6.6% vs 4.5%; P < .001). In multivariable analysis, PAD was associated with higher MACE (odds ratio [OR]: 1.53; 95% CI, 1.01-2.26; P = .038) and lower technical success (OR: 0.82; 95% CI, 0.69-0.99; P = .039). Conclusions: PAD patients undergoing CTO PCI have higher comorbidity burden, more complex CTOs, higher MACE, and lower technical success.

ST-elevation myocardial infarction from septic embolism secondary to prosthetic aortic valve endocarditis: a case report.

Background: ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a cardiac emergency that requires prompt diagnosis and treatment. We describe a challenging and complex case of managing acute STEMI in a patient with severe anaemia, deranged clotting profile, and infective prodrome. Case summary: A 54-year-old Caucasian gentleman was referred by his general practitioner as an emergency after presenting with acute onset of chest pain. His electrocardiogram revealed anterior ST elevation. His past medical history includes a mechanical aortic valve, requiring anticoagulation, and a recent gastrointestinal bleed secondary to type C gastritis. His initial presentation was further complicated by severe anaemia, deranged clotting profile, and elevated infective markers. He required a prompt transfer to the catheterization laboratory to assess and stabilize the situation. We discuss the emerging challenges during treatment, particularly as the diagnosis of septic embolism from infective prosthetic valve endocarditis was unfolding, requiring urgent cardiac surgery. Discussion: Acute coronary vessel closure leading to STEMI from septic embolism secondary to prosthetic aortic valve endocarditis is very rare. It is essential to consider the whole picture of the presentation for timely diagnosis and tailored treatment.

Retrospective Multicenter Analysis of Intravascular Lithotripsy Use During Calcified Left Main Coronary Artery Percutaneous Coronary Interventions.

Background: Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) safely and effectively modifies calcified coronary lesions during percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). Data regarding its utility in modifying calcified left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease are limited. This study aimed to evaluate short-term outcomes of IVL-assisted LMCA PCI. Methods: This retrospective multicenter all-comers study analyzed patients who underwent intravascular imaging-guided, IVL-assisted PCI for calcified LMCA disease. Clinical and procedural characteristics were obtained, including intravascular imaging measurements. Technical success was defined as successful stent deployment with <30% residual diameter stenosis. Major adverse cardiac events (MACE) was a composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, and target vessel revascularization evaluated immediately postprocedure and at 30-day follow-up. Results: Among 184 patients treated at 7 centers from 2019-2023, IVL-assisted LMCA PCI achieved 99.4% technical success. Calcium fracture was identified in 136/165 cases (82.4%) on post-IVL imaging. Pretreatment minimal luminal area increased significantly compared to post-PCI minimal stent area (MSA) (4.1 ± 1.3 to 9.3 ± 2.5 mm2, respectively; P < .001). There was a direct correlation between IVL balloon size and the final MSA (P = .002). In-hospital MACE was 4.4% and 30-day MACE was 8.8%. In multivariate logistic regression, presentation with troponin-positive myocardial infarction was the sole predictor of 30-day MACE. Conclusions: IVL-assisted PCI for calcified LMCA lesions was safe and resulted in high technical success rates, confirming its utility as an effective treatment in this challenging lesion subset.

Predicting Successful Chronic Total Occlusion Crossing With Primary Antegrade Wiring Using Machine Learning.

BACKGROUND: There is limited data on predicting successful chronic total occlusion crossing using primary antegrade wiring (AW). OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to develop and validate a machine learning (ML) prognostic model for successful chronic total occlusion crossing using primary AW. METHODS: We used data from 12,136 primary AW cases performed between 2012 and 2023 at 48 centers in the PROGRESS CTO registry (Prospective Global Registry for the Study of Chronic Total Occlusion Intervention; NCT02061436) to develop 5 ML models. Hyperparameter tuning was performed for the model with the best performance, and the SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) explainer was implemented to estimate feature importance. RESULTS: Primary AW was successful in 6,965 cases (57.4%). Extreme gradient boosting was the best performing ML model with an average area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of 0.775 (± 0.010). After hyperparameter tuning, the average area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of the extreme gradient boosting model was 0.782 in the training set and 0.780 in the testing set. Among the factors examined, occlusion length had the most significant impact on predicting successful primary AW crossing followed by blunt/no stump, presence of interventional collaterals, vessel diameter, and proximal cap ambiguity. In contrast, aorto-ostial lesion location had the least impact on the outcome. A web-based application for predicting successful primary AW wiring crossing is available online (PROGRESS-CTO website) (https://www.progresscto.org/predict-aw-success). CONCLUSIONS: We developed an ML model with 14 features and high predictive capacity for successful primary AW in chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention.

Anxiety and depression are associated with heightened risk of incident deep vein thrombosis: Mediation through stress-related neural mechanisms.

Controversy exists as to whether anxiety and depression increase deep vein thrombosis (DVT) risk, and the mechanisms mediating potential links remain unknown. We aimed to evaluate the association between anxiety and depression and DVT risk and determine whether upregulated stress-related neural activity (SNA), which promotes chronic inflammation, contributes to this link. Our retrospective study included adults (N = 118 871) enrolled in Mass General Brigham Biobank. A subset (N = 1520) underwent clinical 18F-FDG-PET/CT imaging. SNA was measured as the ratio of amygdalar to cortical activity (AmygAC). High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and heart rate variability (HRV) were also obtained. Median age was 58 [interquartile range (IQR) 42-70] years with 57% female participants. DVT occurred in 1781 participants (1.5%) over median follow-up of 3.6 years [IQR 2.1-5.2]. Both anxiety and depression independently predicted incident DVT risk after robust adjustment (HR [95% CI]: 1.53 [1.38-1.71], p < .001; and 1.48 [1.33-1.65], p < .001, respectively). Additionally, both anxiety and depression associated with increased AmygAC (standardized beta [95% CI]: 0.16 [0.04-0.27], p = .007, and 0.17 [0.05-0.29], p = .006, respectively). Furthermore, AmygAC associated with incident DVT (HR [95% CI]: 1.30 [1.07-1.59], p = .009). Mediation analysis demonstrated that the link between anxiety/depression and DVT was mediated by: (1) higher AmygAC, (2) higher hs-CRP, and (3) lower HRV ( < .05 for each). Anxiety and depression confer an attributable risk of DVT similar to other traditional DVT risk factors. Mechanisms appear to involve increased SNA, autonomic system activity, and inflammation. Future studies are needed to determine whether treatment of anxiety and depression can reduce DVT risk.

Ultrathin-strut versus thin-strut stent healing and outcomes in preclinical and clinical subjects.

BACKGROUND: Compared with thin-strut durable-polymer drug-eluting stents (DP-DES), ultrathin-strut biodegradable-polymer sirolimus-eluting stents (BP-SES) improve stent-related clinical outcomes in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Reduced stent strut thickness is hypothesised to underlie these benefits, but this conjecture remains unproven. AIMS: We aimed to assess the impact of strut thickness on stent healing and clinical outcomes between ultrathin-strut and thin-strut BP-SES. METHODS: First, we performed a preclinical study of 8 rabbits implanted with non-overlapping thin-strut (diameter/thickness 3.5 mm/80 µm) and ultrathin-strut (diameter/thickness 3.0 mm/60 µm) BP-SES in the infrarenal aorta. On day 7, the rabbits underwent intravascular near-infrared fluorescence optical coherence tomography (NIRF-OCT) molecular-structural imaging of fibrin deposition and stent tissue coverage, followed by histopathological analysis. Second, we conducted an individual data pooled analysis of patients enrolled in the BIOSCIENCE and BIOSTEMI randomised PCI trials treated with ultrathin-strut (n=282) or thin-strut (n=222) BP-SES. The primary endpoint was target lesion failure (TLF) at 1-year follow-up, with a landmark analysis at 30 days. RESULTS: NIRF-OCT image analyses revealed that ultrathin-strut and thin-strut BP-SES exhibited similar stent fibrin deposition (p=0.49) and percentage of uncovered stent struts (p=0.63). Histopathological assessments corroÂborated these findings. In 504 pooled randomised trial patients, TLF rates were similar for those treated with ultrathin-strut or thin-strut BP-SES at 30-day (2.5% vs 1.8%; p=0.62) and 1-year follow-up (4.3% vs 4.7%; p=0.88). CONCLUSIONS: Ultrathin-strut and thin-strut BP-SES demonstrate similar early arterial healing profiles and 30-day and 1-year clinical outcomes.

Geographic diversity in chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention: insights from the PROGRESS-CTO registry.

BACKGROUND: There is variability in clinical and lesion characteristics as well as techniques in chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: We analyzed patient and lesion characteristics, techniques, and outcomes in 11 503 CTO-PCI procedures performed in North America (NA) and in the combined regions of Europe, Asia, and Africa from 2017 to 2023 as documented in the PROGRESS-CTO registry. RESULTS: Eight thousand four hundred seventy-nine (74%) procedures were performed in NA. Compared with non-NA patients, NA patients were older, with higher body mass index and higher prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, family history of coronary artery disease, prior history of PCI, coronary artery bypass graft surgery and heart failure, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral arterial disease. Their CTOs were more complex, with higher J-CTO (2.56 ± 1.22 vs 1.81 ± 1.24; P less than .001) and PROGRESS-CTO (1.29 ± 1.01 vs 1.07 ± 0.95; P less than .001) scores, longer length, and higher prevalence of proximal cap ambiguity, blunt/no stump, moderate to severe calcification, and proximal tortuosity. Retrograde (31.0% vs 22.1%; P less than .001) and antegrade dissection and re-entry (ADR) (21.2% vs 9.2%; P less than .001) were more commonly used in NA centers, along with intravascular ultrasound (69.0% vs 10.1%; P less than .001). Procedure and fluoroscopy times were longer in NA, while contrast volume and radiation dose were lower. Technical (86.7% vs 86.8%; P > .90) and procedural (85.4% vs 85.8%; P = .70) success and in-hospital major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) (1.9% vs 1.7%; P = .40) were similar in NA and non-NA centers. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with non-NA patients, NA patients undergoing CTO PCI have more comorbidities, higher CTO lesion complexity, are more likely to undergo treatment with retrograde and ADR, and have similar technical success and MACE.

Ranolazine in chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention.

Ranolazine is an anti-anginal medication given to patients with chronic angina and persistent symptoms despite medical therapy. We examined 11 491 chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) that were performed at 41 US and non-US centers between 2012 and 2023 in the PROGRESS-CTO Registry. Patients on ranolazine at baseline had more comorbidities, more complex lesions, lower procedural and technical success (based on univariable but not multivariable analysis), and higher incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) (on both univariable and multivariable analysis).

Retrograde chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention via ipsilateral collaterals.

BACKGROUND: There is limited data on retrograde chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) via ipsilateral epicardial collaterals (IEC). AIMS: To compare the clinical and angiographic characteristics, and outcomes of retrograde CTO PCI via IEC versus other collaterals in a large multicenter registry. METHODS: Observational cohort study from the Prospective Global registry for the study of Chronic Total Occlusion Intervention (PROGRESS-CTO). RESULTS: Of 4466 retrograde cases performed between 2012 and 2023, crossing through IEC was attempted in 191 (4.3%) cases with 50% wiring success. The most common target vessel in the IEC group was the left circumflex (50%), in comparison to other retrograde cases, where the right coronary artery was most common (70%). The Japanese CTO score was similar between the two groups (3.13 ± 1.23 vs. 3.06 ± 1.06, p = 0.456); however, the IEC group had a higher Prospective Global Registry for the Study of Chronic Total Occlusion Intervention (PROGRESS-CTO) score (1.95 ± 1.02 vs. 1.27 ± 0.92, p < 0.0001). The most used IEC guidewire was the SUOH 03 (39%), and the most frequently used microcatheter was the Caravel (43%). Dual injection was less common in IEC cases (66% vs. 89%, p < 0.0001). Technical (76% vs. 79%, p = 0.317) and procedural success rates (74% vs. 79%, p = 0.281) were not different between the two groups. However, IEC cases had a higher procedural complications rate (25.8% vs. 16.4%, p = 0.0008), including perforations (17.3% vs. 9.0%, p = 0.0001), pericardiocentesis (3.1% vs. 1.2%, p = 0.018), and dissection/thrombus of the donor vessel (3.7% vs. 1.2%, p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: The use of IEC for retrograde CTO PCI was associated with similar technical and procedural success rates when compared with other retrograde cases, but higher incidence of periprocedural complications.

Validation of the BCIS CHIP Score in chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: The complex high-risk indicated percutaneous coronary intervention (CHIP) score is a tool developed using the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society (BCIS) database to define CHIP cases and predict in-hospital major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events (MACCE). AIM: To assess the validity of the CHIP score in chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: We evaluated the performance of the CHIP score on 8341 CTO PCIs from the Prospective Global Registry for the Study of Chronic Total Occlusion Intervention (PROGRESS-CTO) performed at 44 centers between 2012 and 2023. RESULTS: In our cohort, 7.8% (n = 647) of patients had a CHIP score of 0, 50.2% (n = 4192) had a CHIP score of 1-2, 26.2% (n = 2187) had a CHIP score of 3-4, 11.7% (n = 972) had a CHIP score of 5-6, 3.3% (n = 276) had a CHIP score of 7-8, and 0.8% (n = 67) had a CHIP score of 9+. The incidence of MACCE for a CHIP score of 0 was 0.6%, reaching as high as 8.7% for a CHIP score of 9+, confirming that a higher CHIP score is associated with a higher risk of MACCE. The estimated increase in the risk of MACCE per one score unit increase was 100% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 65%-141%). The AUC of the CHIP score model for predicting MACCE in our cohort was 0.63 (95% CI: 0.58-0.67). There was a positive correlation between the CHIP score and the PROGRESS-CTO MACE score (Spearman's correlation: 0.37; 95% CI: 0.35-0.39; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The CHIP score has modest predictive capacity for MACCE in CTO PCI.

Predictors of successful primary antegrade wiring in chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: Antegrade wiring is the most commonly used chronic total occlusion (CTO) crossing technique. METHODS: Using data from the PROGRESS CTO registry (Prospective Global Registry for the Study of Chronic Total Occlusion Intervention; Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02061436), we examined the clinical and angiographic characteristics and procedural outcomes of CTO percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) performed using a primary antegrade wiring strategy. RESULTS: Of the 13 563 CTO PCIs performed at 46 centers between 2012 and 2023, a primary antegrade wiring strategy was used in 11 332 (83.6%). Upon multivariable logistic regression analysis, proximal cap ambiguity (odds ratio [OR]: 0.52; 95% CI, 0.46-0.59), side branch at the proximal cap (OR: 0.85; 95% CI, 0.77-0.95), blunt/no stump (OR: 0.52; 95% CI: 0.47-0.59), increasing lesion length (OR [per 10 mm increase]: 0.79; 95% CI, 0.76-0.81), moderate to severe calcification (OR: 0.73; 95% CI, 0.66-0.81), moderate to severe proximal tortuosity (OR: 0.67; 95% CI, 0.59-0.75), bifurcation at the distal cap (OR: 0.66; 95% CI, 0.59-0.73), left anterior descending artery CTO (OR [vs right coronary artery]: 1.44; 95% CI, 1.28-1.62) and left circumflex CTO (OR [vs right coronary artery]: 1.22; 95% CI, 1.07-1.40), non-in-stent restenosis lesion (OR: 0.56; 95% CI, 0.49-0.65), and good distal landing zone (OR: 1.18; 95% CI, 1.06-1.32) were independently associated with primary antegrade wiring crossing success. CONCLUSIONS: The use of antegrade wiring as the initial strategy was high (83.6%) in our registry. We identified several parameters associated with primary antegrade wiring success.

Use of plaque modification microcatheters during percutaneous coronary interventions for chronic total occlusion: insights from the PROGRESS-CTO Registry.

Plaque modification microcatheters (PM) (Tornus [Asahi] and Turnpike Gold [Teleflex]) are devices that are mainly used to modify the cap or lesion and maintain good support in chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary artery intervention (PCI). We evaluated the frequency of use and outcomes of plaque modification microcatheters in an international multicenter registry. Plaque modification microcatheters were utilized in 242 cases (1.6%: Tornus in 51% and Turnpike Gold in 49%) with decreasing frequency over time (P-for-trend: 0.007 and 0.035, respectively). Technical and procedural success and the incidence of major cardiac adverse events were similar with Tornus and Turnpike Gold use. PM are infrequently utilized in CTO-PCI and are associated with high success and acceptable complication rates.

Racial disparities in chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary interventions: insights from the PROGRESS-CTO registry.

OBJECTIVES: There is limited data on race and outcomes of chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The authors sought to evaluate CTO PCI techniques and outcomes in different racial groups. METHODS: We examined the baseline characteristics and procedural outcomes of 11 806 CTO PCIs performed at 44 US and non-US centers between 2012 and March 2023. In-hospital major adverse cardiac events (MACE) included death, myocardial infarction, repeat target-vessel revascularization, pericardiocentesis, cardiac surgery, and stroke prior to discharge. RESULTS: The most common racial group was White (84.5%), followed by Black (5.7%), "Other" (3.9%), Hispanic (2.9%), Asian (2.4%), and Native American (0.7%). There were significant differences in the baseline characteristics between different racial groups. When compared with non-White patients, the retrograde approach and antegrade dissection re-entry were more likely to be the successful crossing strategies in White patients without any significant differences in technical success (86.4% vs 86.4%; P = .93), procedural success (84.8% vs 85.0%; P = .79), and in-hospital MACE (2.0% vs 1.5%; P = .15) between the 2 groups. The technical success rate was significantly higher in the "Other" racial group (91.0% vs 86.4% in White, 86.9% in Asian, 84.5% in Black, 84.5% in Hispanic, and 83.3% in Native American; P = .03) without any significant differences in procedural success or in-hospital MACE rates between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Despite differences in baseline characteristics and procedural techniques, the procedural success and in-hospital MACE of CTO PCI were not significantly different between most racial groups.

Emergency coronary artery bypass surgery after chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention: Insights from the PROGRESS-CTO registry.

BACKGROUND: Emergency coronary artery bypass surgery (eCABG) is a serious complication of chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary artery intervention (PCI). METHODS: We examined the incidence and outcomes eCABG among 14,512 CTO PCIs performed between 2012 and 2023 in a large multicenter registry. RESULTS: The incidence of eCABG was 0.12% (n = 17). Mean age was 68 ± 6 years and 69% of the patients were men. The most common reason for eCABG was coronary perforation (70.6%). eCABG patients had larger target vessel diameter (3.36 ± 0.50 vs. 2.90 ± 0.52; p = 0.003), were more likely to have moderate/severe calcification (85.7% vs. 45.8%; p = 0.006), side branch at the proximal cap (91.7% vs. 55.4%; p = 0.025), and balloon undilatable lesions (50% vs. 7.4%; p = 0.001) and to have undergone retrograde crossing (64.7% vs. 30.8%, p = 0.006). eCABG cases had lower technical (35.3% vs. 86.7%; p < 0.001) and procedural (35.3% vs. 86.7%; p < 0.001) success and higher in-hospital mortality (35.3% vs. 0.4%; p < 0.001), coronary perforation (70.6% vs. 4.6%; p < 0.001), pericardiocentesis (47.1% vs. 0.8%; p < 0.001), and major bleeding (11.8% vs. 0.5%; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of eCABG after CTO PCI was 0.12% and associated with high in-hospital mortality (35%). Coronary perforation was the most common reason for eCABG.