A chronic total occlusion (CTO) occurs when a coronary artery (a vessel supplying blood to your heart) is completely blocked by heavy plaque build-up for more than three months.
Interventional cardiologists at Englewood Cardiology Consultants offer a minimally invasive treatment for CTO. Called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), stents are placed to open arteries for patients with a diagnosed CTO. This new technology gives options to patients who:
- are not candidates for cardiac surgery because of health issues, poor heart muscle function, or previous cardiac surgery
- Want an alternative to open heart surgery
This new technology allows our physicians to treat even more complex cases than ever before.