Quality of life benefits of percutaneous coronary intervention for chronic occlusions

Objectives We aimed to compare quality of life benefits of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for chronic total occlusions (CTO) with non‐CTO PCI. Background Data quantifying the benefits of PCI of CTO are inconsistent. Methods We leveraged a 10‐center prospective PCI registry including Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) assessment at the time of PCI and in follow‐up. We propensity matched attempted CTO PCIs with up to 10 non‐CTO PCIs. The primary analysis compared changes between baseline and 6 months in SAQ Physical Limitation (PL), Quality of Life (QoL); Angina Frequency (AF) scores as well as the Rose Dyspnea scores (RDS) and the EQ5D Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Noninferiority was assessed for quality of life changes between CTO and non‐CTO PCI. Results In 3,303 patients enrolled, 167 single‐vessel CTOs were attempted; 147 (88%) were matched with 1,616 non‐CTO PCI. Baseline PL (73.0 vs. 77.4, P = 0.039) and VAS (66.4 vs. 70.8, P = 0.005) scores were lower for CTO. There was no difference in AF, QoL, or RDS scores. At 6‐month follow‐up, all SAQ scores improved (P