| Affiliation: | 1. San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy;2. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas;3. VA North Texas Health Care System, and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas;4. Department of Cardiology, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Belfast, United Kingdom;5. Forth Valley Royal Hospital, Forth Valley, United Kingdom;6. Mid America Heart Institute, Kansas City, Missouri;7. Quebec Heart and Lung Institute, Laval University, Quebec City, Canada;8. Boston Scientific Corp, Minneapolis, Minnesota;9. PeaceHealth Medical Center, St. Joseph Hospital, Bellingham, Washington;10. Department of Medical Sciences and Pediatrics, Clinical Division of Cardiology, Cannizzaro Hospital, University of Catania, Italy;11. Department of Cardiology, AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece;12. Ospedale San Giovanni Bosco, Torino, Italy;13. Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, New York;14. Piedmont Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia;15. EMO‐GVM Centro Cuore Columbus, Milan, Italy |
| Abstract: | There is substantial evidence that recanalization of a chronic total occlusion is beneficial; nonetheless, it is generally underutilized in clinical practice. We consider the Aesop's fable of the “Fox and the Grapes” as analogous to the current situation in interventional cardiology. The technical challenges in achieving CTO recanalization has led interventionalists, clinical cardiologists, and sometimes even patients to believe that CTO recanalization is not effective, and, therefore, not needed. This perspective reviews available data regarding efficacy and safety of CTO percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the current drug‐eluting stent era, discusses areas where more studies are required, and encourages the interventional community to utilize CTO PCI where appropriate based on current evidence. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. |
