Thiruvananthapuram: A team, led by interventional cardiologist Ramesh Natarajan, at Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences has operated a long segment total occlusion of the right coronary artery on a 75-year-old male patient from Tamil Nadu. The team used the Cross Boss Sting Ray technique for removing long-standing total blockages of coronary arteries.
The patient had complaints of chest pain during routine activities and was referred after a trial to open the blockage elsewhere. He had Chronic Total Occlusion of the right coronary artery. CTOs are blockages typically present for more than three months as a result of severe build-up of fatty deposits or plaque within arteries (atherosclerosis) and are one of the complications from coronary artery disease (CAD). coronary artery disease occurs when the artery or arteries supplying blood to the heart become narrowed or blocked because of atherosclerosis. Deficient blood to heart triggers chest pain (angina), shortness of breath or a heart attack. These symptoms occur with exertion or sometimes at rest.
