Chronic Total Occlusion (CTO)

Coronary artery disease remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide and is commonly treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Typically, PCI is guided by invasive coronary angiography (ICA). However, ICA has inherent limitations in accurately assessing vessel dimensions, calcium burden, circumferential tissue and whether a stent has achieved full expansion. Therefore ICA alone is insufficient for guiding stent optimization, especially in complex lesions which are most vulnerable to long-term stent failure. To overcome the limitations of ICA, intracoronary imaging can be used to guide and optimize PCI. The advantages of intracoronary imaging include obtaining larger lumen areas, better stent expansion and strut apposition, full lesion stent coverage and identifying stent complications. Multiple randomized studies have shown that these advantages translate into a reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in complex PCI. Consequently, the recommendation for intracoronary imaging has been upgraded in the most recent guidelines. Despite robust evidence supporting its benefits, intracoronary imaging remains relatively underused in real-world practice and in the Netherlands it is only used in 7% of complex PCI procedures. This underutilization may be attributed to several factors, including operator and hospital-dependent issues such as lack of experience, reluctance to spend additional time on intracoronary imaging and concerns about its cost-effectiveness. Therefore, initiating an implementation project to incorporate intracoronary imaging into routine use in the catheterization lab during complex PCI would be highly valuable. Such a project could make imaging-guided PCI the standard of care in complex PCI. Additionally, it could evaluate the cost-effectiveness of routine intracoronary imaging during complex PCI. For this reason we designed the OPTIMIZE-PCI II, a national registry-based quality improvement project. This project is aimed at implementing a liberal intracoronary imaging-guided strategy for complex PCI across multiple centres in the Netherlands, with data extraction from the Netherlands Heart Registration (NHR) database. The objective of the OPTIMIZE-PCI II is to establish a routine use of intracoronary imaging in complex PCI, to determine if this approach reduces adverse cardiac events in real-world practice, and evaluate its cost-effectiveness.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of drug-coated balloon (DCB) strategies, including DCB alone or hybrid strategies of DCB and drug-eluting stent (DES), compared to DES-only in patients with chronic total occlusion (CTO) after successful recanalization. Through a prospective, multicenter randomized controlled trial, we will directly compare the long-term outcomes of these two treatment strategies in CTO patients to fill the gap in existing research regarding direct comparative data between DCB and DES in CTO treatment. This study expects to provide high-quality evidence for optimizing CTO treatment, potentially improving treatment strategies in complex cases, reducing stent usage, lowering the risk of complications, and ultimately enhancing patient prognosis.

We retrospectively analyzed 200 CAD patients undergoing coronary angiography between 2026-2027. Patients were grouped by CTO presence. Clinical and laboratory parameters were compared, and logistic regression was performed to identify independent predictors.

Coronary chronic total occlusions (CTO) present a significant challenge in the field of interventional cardiology. These complex lesions, characterized by complete blockage of a coronary artery for a prolonged duration, often require specialized techniques and strategies to achieve successful revascularization.

Prospective, observational, single-center cohort study Hypothesis Higher myocardial FAPI uptake in CTO patients predicts a greater incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) within 12 months after PCI. FAPI PET/CT imaging is associated with plaque vulnerability features and may serve as a non-invasive marker for fibrotic activity and adverse cardiac remodeling. Inclusion Criteria * Age ≥ 18 years * Presence of at least one untreated chronic total occlusion (CTO) lesion in a major coronary artery (diameter ≥ 2.5 mm, TIMI 0 flow for ≥ 3 months) confirmed by coronary angiography or CTCA * Patient eligible for PCI and undergoing FAPI PET/CT imaging prior to intervention * Written informed consent provided Exclusion Criteria * Allergy or contraindication to antiplatelet agents (aspirin, clopidogrel, or ticagrelor) * Severe liver dysfunction (liver enzymes \>3× upper limit of normal) * Severe chronic kidney disease (eGFR \< 30 mL/min/1.73 m²) * Estimated life expectancy \< 1 year * Pregnancy or potential for pregnancy Primary Endpoint Incidence of 1-year MACE, defined as a composite of: Cardiac death, Myocardial infarction, Stroke, Urgent revascularization Secondary Endpoints * All-Cause Mortality * Death from any cause within 12 months * Quality of Life Change: Measured by Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ): changes in angina frequency, physical limitation, and treatment satisfaction * Repeat PCI Events: Incidence of: In-stent restenosis (ISR): ≥50% luminal loss in previously stented segment; Target lesion revascularization (TLR): at original PCI lesion; Target vessel revascularization (TVR): other sites in same vessel; De novo lesions: new lesions not previously treated Sample Size Estimated 470 patients Follow-Up Duration 12 months post-PCI, One follow-up visit including clinical exam, SAQ questionnaire, imaging (PET/CT, echocardiography), and laboratory testing.

This registry will include consecutive patients presenting with at least one chronic total coronary occlusion (CTO) identified via coronary angiography or cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) at our center. Due to the complexity of CTO lesions, both procedural success rates and prognosis improvements are limited. The progression and development of atherosclerotic plaques involve fibroblast activity, contributing to the formation of fibrous caps and calcified nodules through various mechanisms. Myocardial fibrosis within chronically occluded segments is strongly linked to ventricular remodeling and patient prognosis. The activation of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) is a critical early phase in myocardial fibrosis, playing a key role in fibrotic progression. However, the role of activated CFs in CTO patients has remained unclear, mainly due to the lack of reliable in vivo assessment techniques for detecting CF activation. Recent studies have demonstrated that radionuclide-labeled fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (FAPI) imaging is an effective and reliable technique for detecting both myocardial fibrosis and activated CFs in arterial plaques. Preliminary data suggest that FAPI imaging can characterize plaque composition and assess the extent of myocardial fibrosis in various cardiovascular conditions. However, its potential to predict the ease of CTO recanalization and subsequent clinical outcomes remains to be fully explored. The aim of this prospective cohort study is to evaluate the predictive value of FAPI imaging in patients with at least one untreated CTO. All enrolled patients will undergo baseline assessments prior to intervention, including blood tests, clinical evaluations, and imaging studies. These imaging studies will include myocardial FDG/perfusion imaging, FAPI imaging, and resting perfusion imaging. In selected patients, additional evaluations such as stress myocardial perfusion imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and echocardiography will also be performed. For patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), follow-up assessments will occur at 6 and 12 months. At the 6-month mark, improvements in left ventricular (LV) wall motion will be assessed using resting perfusion imaging. At 12 months, coronary angiography (CAG) will be performed on all patients to evaluate recanalization outcomes. Additionally, myocardial perfusion imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and echocardiography may be selectively used to evaluate patients during the 12-month follow-up. 1. To evaluate the ability of FAPI imaging in predicting the difficulty of CTO recanalization. 2. To investigate the role of myocardial FAPI imaging in predicting the improvement of LV wall motion at 6 months, assessed using follow-up single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). By comparing FAPI imaging with conventional prognostic assessment methods, this study aims to clarify the utility of FAPI imaging in both predicting the recanalization complexity and in assessing long-term clinical outcomes in CTO patients.

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the feasibility of a cardiac pre-hab program for patients with blocked arteries (CTO) who are referred for PCI treatment. The main questions it aims to answer are: Can the pre-hab program improve patients\&#39; functional capacity before PCI? Does the pre-hab program impact the need for PCI based on improvements in patients\&#39; health? Participants will: Undergo an initial assessment including a physical exam, medication history, quality of life questionnaires, and blood work. Complete a 6-month cardiac rehabilitation program. Have repeat assessments to evaluate improvements and determine if PCI is still needed. If PCI is performed, be assessed again one month later for functional capacity improvements. If PCI is not needed after 6 months, participants will be followed virtually for an additional 5 months.