Effectiveness of coronary stenting for the treatment of chronic total occlusion in angina pectoris

Abstract

Percutaneous transluminal balloon angioplasty for chronic total occlusion of a coronary artery is associated with a primary success rate of about 60%.1-3 This low success rate may be the result of failure in crossing the occlusion, or simply an unsatisfactory angiographic result after balloon inflation. In addition, patients with initial successful results have an increased propensity toward restenosis or reocclusion.4,5 Stenting the recanalized segment in selected patients could theoretically improve the results of balloon angioplasty alone.6 This report evaluates the potential role of adjunctive coronary stenting after initial recanalization in 30 patients with nonacute coronary total occlusion.