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Purpose: Despite the fact that techniques for recanalization of chronic total occlusions (CTO) are improved, the benefit of successful recanalization of the artery remains unclear. The aim of our study is to determine the success rate of percutaneous procedures and to evaluate the event free long-term survival in patients with CTO who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).Methods: Our study included 283 consecutive patients with chronic total occlusions who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention on CTO at Clinic for Cardiology, between Jan 1st 2009 and Dec 31st 2010. Data were obtained retrospectively from Cath lab database at Clinic for Cardiology. Follow up data were obtained by direct phone contact.Results: Overall procedural success was achieved in 62.3% interventions. Independent predictors for procedural failure were presence of vessel tortuosity (P=0.007), vessel wall calcifications (P=0.000), blunt stump (P=0.000) and unstable angina pectoris as negative predictor (P=0.009). Overall MACE rates were similar in the procedural success and procedural failure groups (10% vs. 12.8%, p=0.455). There was no significant difference in the event free survival rate between success and failure group (89.8% vs. 87.2%, Log-Rank =0.468, p=0.494).Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that success rate of PCI in patients with CTO is acceptable and safe. Nevertheless, successful recanalization of CTO was not associated with an improved event free survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Bone marrow (BM)-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in the circulation replace damaged vascular endothelium. We assessed the hypothesis that a BM transplant from healthy animals would restore normal arterial endothelium and prevent hypertension in young endothelial nitric oxide synthase-deficient (eNOS(-/-)) mice., Methods and Results: Radiation or busulfan-induced BM ablation in eNOS(-/-) mice on day 6, day 14, or day 28 was followed by a BM transplant consisting of enhanced green fluorescent protein positive (EGFP(+)) cells from C57BL/6J mice. Peripheral blood cell chimerism was always greater than 85% at 4 months after BM transplant. Molecular assays of heart, kidney, and liver revealed low-level chimerism in all treatment groups, consistent with residual circulating EGFP(+) blood cells. When aorta, coronary, renal, hepatic, and splenic arteries in BM-transplanted eNOS(-/-) mice were examined by confocal microscopy, there were no EGFP- or eNOS-positive endothelial cells detected in these vessels in any of the treatment groups. Likewise, telemetry did not detect any reduction in blood pressure. Thus, no differences were observed in our measurements using several different treatment protocols., Conclusion: We found no evidence for BM-derived EPC renewal of endothelium in this eNOS-deficient mouse model of a chronic vascular disease or in wild-type mice during postnatal growth. Hence, renewal of chronic dysfunctional endothelium and endothelial homeostasis may be dependent on resident vascular progenitor cells.