A Chronic Total Occlusion (CTO) is a coronary artery that has been completely blocked for at least three months. Blood may still reach the heart muscle through smaller collateral channels, but many people live with limiting chest pain, breathlessness, or fatigue.
Why CTO is different
Standard angioplasty wires can struggle to cross a longstanding blockage. That is why patients are sometimes told stents are “not possible” and that bypass surgery is the only option.
Dedicated CTO operators use specialised wires, dual-catheter techniques, and hybrid algorithms developed specifically for these blockages. In carefully selected patients, success rates are high and open-heart surgery can often be avoided.
Is CTO PCI right for you?
Suitability depends on your symptoms, anatomy, prior procedures, and overall surgical risk. A second opinion with a complex-intervention cardiologist — including review of your angiogram — is the best next step if you have been declined for routine PCI.
If you have private health cover including heart procedures, specialist CTO care is available in Melbourne private hospitals without interstate travel.