Skip to Content
800-533-8762
  • Careers
  • Newsroom
  • Health Care Professionals
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
UPMC
  • Find a Doctor
  • Services
    • Frequently Searched Services
    • Frequently Searched Services
      Allergy & Immunology Behavioral & Mental Health Cancer Ear, Nose & Throat Endocrinology Gastroenterology Heart & Vascular Imaging Neurosciences Orthopaedics
      Physical Rehabilitation Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Primary Care Senior Services Sports Medicine Telemedicine Transplant Surgery Walk-In Care Weight Management Women’s Health
      See all Services
    • Services by Region
    • Find a UPMC health care facility close to you quickly by browsing by region.
      UPMC in Western Pa. Western Pa. and New York
      UPMC in Central Pa. Central Pa.
      UPMC in North Central Pa. North Central Pa.
      UPMC in Western Md. Maryland & West Virginia
    • See All Services
  • Locations
    • Locations by Type
    • Locations by Type
      UPMC hospitals
      Hospitals
      Physical Therapy
      Physical Therapy
      Urgent care
      Walk-In Care
      UPMC Outpatient Centers
      Outpatient Centers
      UPMC Imaging Services
      Imaging
      Community Health Centers
      Community Health Centers
      See All Locations
    • Locations by Region
    • Locations by Region
      UPMC in Southwest Pa. Southwest Pa.
      UPMC in North Central Pa. North Central Pa.
      UPMC in Northwest Pa and Ny. Northwest Pa. & Western N.Y.
      UPMC in West Central Pa. West Central Pa.
      UPMC in Central Pa. Central Pa.
      UPMC in Western Md. Maryland & West Virginia
    • See All Locations
  • Patients & Visitors
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
      Patients and Visitors Resources Pay a Bill Classes & Events Medical Records Health Library Patient Information
      Patient Portals Privacy Information Shared Decision Making Traveling Patients Visitor Information
      Man uses mobile phone
      Pay a Bill
      Nurse reviews medical chart
      Request Medical Records
  • Patient Portals
  • Find Covid-19 updates
  • Schedule an appointment
  • Request medical records
  • Pay a bill
  • Learn about financial assistance
  • Find classes & events
  • Send a patient an eCard
  • Make a donation
  • Volunteer
  • Read HealthBeat blog
  • Explore UPMC Careers
Skip to Content
UPMC
  • Patient Portals
  • For Patients & Visitors
    • Find a Doctor
    • Locations
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
    • Pay a Bill
    • Services
    • More
      • Medical Records
      • Financial Assistance
      • Classes & Events
      • HealthBeat Blog
      • Health Library
  • About UPMC
    • Why UPMC
    • Facts & Stats
    • Supply Chain Management
    • Community Commitment
    • More
      • Financials
      • Support UPMC
      • UPMC Apps
      • UPMC Enterprises
      • UPMC International
  • For Health Care Professionals
    • Physician Information
    • Resources
    • Education & Training
    • Departments
    • Credentialing
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Newsroom
  • UPMC >
  • Our Services >
  • Heart & Vascular >
  • ... >
  • About Us >
  • Patient Stories >
  • Heart Disease >
  • Dennis Polega
Heart & Vascular
About Us
Awards & Recognition
Your Care Team
Classes, Events, & News
Giving
Patient Stories
Heart Disease
Heart Rhythm Disorder
Heart Transplant
Heart Valve Disease
Pulmonary Hypertension
Vascular Conditions
Ventricular Assist Device (VAD)
Conditions We Treat
Our Services
For Patients
For Professionals & Students
Our Locations
Contact Us
Heart & Vascular
About Us
Awards & Recognition
Your Care Team
Classes, Events, & News
Giving
Patient Stories
Heart Disease
Heart Rhythm Disorder
Heart Transplant
Heart Valve Disease
Pulmonary Hypertension
Vascular Conditions
Ventricular Assist Device (VAD)
Conditions We Treat
Our Services
For Patients
For Professionals & Students
Our Locations
Contact Us

Chat Keywords List

  • cancel or exit: Stops your conversation
  • start over: Restarts your current scenario
  • help: Shows what this bot can do
  • terms: Shows terms of use and privacy statement
  • feedback: Give us feedback
Continue
Chat with UPMC
RESTART
MENU
CLOSE

Dennis Polega: Chronic Coronary Total Occlusion (CTO)

Dennis Polega - Chronic Coronary Total Occlusion Patient Story

The Challenge: Chest Pain

For years, Dennis Polega had been having chest pain that came and went. Numerous cardiac stress tests showed no blockages in his heart arteries. Eventually, he was diagnosed with acid reflux — heartburn.

The heartburn medication did not always work, and sometimes the chest pain would return.

Although he didn't realize it at the time, Dennis was becoming gradually less able to take part in many of the everyday things he used to.

"What a humbling experience it is," he says, "when your wife has to go out to shovel the snow."

In January 2014, Dennis's youngest daughter, Deidra Kacvinsky, and his wife left for a prenatal ultrasound test while he stayed behind to help with a remodeling project on his daughter's new home.

 

As he worked, he began to experience shortness of breath, nausea, and fatigue. Believing he was having a mild heart attack, Dennis once again went to the hospital and a stress test revealed that his right coronary artery was completely blocked.

The Path to UPMC: Seeking a Second Opinion

Dennis had what doctors call chronic coronary total occlusion, or CTO. CTO means that a heart artery has been completely blocked for more than three months.

Most blockages to heart arteries are caused by plaque, which is partly made up of fat and calcium.

Because the plaque involved in CTO contains a great deal of calcium, it can be very hard, making it difficult to perform angioplasty. This is one reason why many cardiologists recommend bypass surgery for people with CTO.

Small blood vessels had grown between one of Dennis's unblocked coronary arteries and the blocked one. Because his body had partially adapted, the doctors recommended treatment with five medications instead of bypass surgery.

Dennis had accepted his condition. His daughter, however — a lab technician who works for UPMC — kept urging him to seek another opinion.

He finally gave in and made an appointment at the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute.

The Solution: The Hybrid Approach to Angioplasty and Stenting

Catalin Toma, MD, and Conrad Smith, MD, interventional cardiologists with expertise in treating CTOs, work together in a procedure that is called the hybrid approach because of the numerous methods they use to gain access to the plaque.

Few centers in western Pennsylvania have the skill and expertise necessary to offer this procedure.

Dennis underwent the hybrid angioplasty procedure and after "half an hour it felt like somebody took 10 pounds off my chest," he says. Dennis was out of the hospital after a weekend.

Now fully recovered, Dennis reports that he's back to performing all activities he couldn't before — things we take for granted — like shoveling snow.


Dennis' treatment and results may not be representative of similar cases.

Read more Heart Disease patient stories


Learn More About Chronic Coronary Total Occlusion

 UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute:

  • Conditions We Treat: Chronic Coronary Total Occlusion 

From our Health Library:

  • Coronary Arteries and Heart Function
  • Angioplasty for Coronary Artery Disease
  • Angioplasty for Heart Disease (Video)
UPMC
200 Lothrop Street Pittsburgh, PA 15213

412-647-8762 800-533-8762

Patients And Visitors
  • Find a Doctor
  • Locations
  • Pay a Bill
  • Patient & Visitor Resources
  • Disabilities Resource Center
  • Services
  • Medical Records
  • No Surprises Act
  • Price Transparency
  • Financial Assistance
  • Classes & Events
  • Health Library
Health Care Professionals
  • Physician Information
  • Resources
  • Education & Training
  • Departments
  • Credentialing
Newsroom
  • Newsroom Home
  • Inside Life Changing Medicine Blog
  • News Releases
About
  • Why UPMC
  • Facts & Stats
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Community Commitment
  • Financials
  • Supporting UPMC
  • HealthBeat Blog
  • UPMC Apps
  • UPMC Enterprises
  • UPMC Health Plan
  • UPMC International
  • Nondiscrimination Policy
Life changing is...
Follow UPMC
  • Contact Us
  • Website/Email Terms of Use
  • Medical Advice Disclaimer
  • Privacy Information
  • Active Privacy Alerts
  • Sitemap
© 2025 UPMC I Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences Supplemental content provided by Healthwise, Incorporated. To learn more, visit healthwise.org
Find Care
Providers
Video Visit
Portal Login