Contemporary principles of coronary chronic total occlusion recanalization.

Successful recanalization and percutaneous revascularization of coronary arteries with chronic total occlusion (CTO) is one of the "last frontiers" in coronary interventions. Conquering this objective may enable complete percutaneous revascularization in an increasing number of patients. Revascularization of CTOs carries multiple theoretical advantages such as improvement in wall motion abnormalities and left ventricular function, and ultimately, increased long-term survival. In the long term, when coronary disease progresses, having an open artery may increase the tolerance to future coronary events. The contemporary principles of the recanalization technique are reviewed.