Lucknow: With changing lifestyles and diets increasingly impacting heart health, the need for modern and effective treatment of heart diseases has become more urgent. Addressing this, the Indo-Japanese CTO Club—a unique platform where top cardiologists from India and Japan annually share their experiences and expertise—will hold its yearly meeting in Lucknow from May 30 to June 1, 2025.
The focus of this year’s meeting is on Chronic Total Occlusion (CTO)—a complex heart condition involving complete blockage of coronary arteries—and how to successfully reopen these arteries. Doctors from India, Japan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and other countries will participate in detailed case discussions. Typically, the event draws 600 to 700 national and international cardiologists every year, and already over 600 doctors have registered for this year’s edition.
CTO intervention is a highly specialized procedure that can prevent the need for bypass surgery by reopening blocked arteries through advanced angioplasty techniques, thereby saving lives. Japanese cardiologists have been pioneers in this field, and the club has been operational since 2013, except for a two-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year’s meeting will feature prominent experts such as Dr. Masahisa Yamane, Dr. Kenya Nasu, Dr. Shunsuke Matsuno, and Dr. Wataru Nagamatsu from Japan, along with Dr. Sanjog Kalra from Canada. The course directors include Dr. P.K. Goyal (Lucknow), Dr. N. Pratap Kumar (Thiruvananthapuram), Dr. Surya Prakash Rao (Hyderabad), and Dr. A.V. Ganesh Kumar (Mumbai).
Dr. P.K. Goyal, Course Director and leading cardiologist from Lucknow, explained, “In cases where the heart artery is completely blocked, angioplasty is often not possible, and patients must undergo bypass surgery. However, with CTO intervention techniques, we can now open blocked arteries without surgery. Cardiologists skilled in this technique can perform angioplasty to restore blood flow, avoiding the need for bypass. This is a significant advancement.”
He added, “Indian doctors have developed high-level expertise in this area. The Indo-Japanese CTO Club was started to spread this expertise among more cardiologists so they can confidently manage complex cases and collaborate openly. Together, we can save more lives.”
The annual meeting stands as a strong example of medical self-reliance and international cooperation in the treatment of complex heart diseases.
