Carotid Artery Stenting and Cardiac Surgery in Symptomatic Patients

Predictors and Outcomes of Stroke After Isolated Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting. A Single-Center Experience in 20,582 Patients

OBJECTIVE

Stroke remains a devastating complication after cardiac surgical procedures despite perioperative monitoring and management advances. This study aimed to determine the predictors of stroke in a large, contemporary coronary artery surgery population.

DESIGN

Patient data were analyzed retrospectively.

SETTING

This single-center study was performed in the Catharina Hospital (Eindhoven).

PARTICIPANTS

All patients who underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) between January 1998 and February 2019 were included.

INTERVENTIONS

Isolated CABG.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

The primary endpoint was a postoperative stroke, defined according to the international updated definition for stroke. Logistic regression was performed to retrieve variables associated with postoperative stroke. A total of 20,582 patients underwent CABG during the period of the study. Stroke was observed in 142 patients (0.7%), of which 75 (52.8%) occurred during the first 72 hours. The incidence of postoperative stroke declined over the years. A significantly higher 30-day mortality rate was seen in patients with stroke (20.4%) compared with 1.8% in the rest of the population; p < 0.001. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed age, peripheral arterial disease, reexploration for bleeding, perioperative myocardial infarction, and year of surgery as independent predictors for stroke. Patients with postoperative stroke had worse long-term survival (log-rank p < 0.001). Cox regression analysis revealed postoperative stroke (odds ratio 2.13 [1.73-2.64)) as an independent predictor of late mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

Stroke after CABG is associated with high early and late mortality. Age, peripheral vascular disease, and the year of surgery were associated with postoperative stroke.

Safety and Feasibility of Simultaneous Transcarotid Revascularization With Flow Reversal and Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting for Concomitant Carotid Artery Stenosis and Coronary Artery Disease

OBJECTIVE

The management of patients with combined severe carotid artery and coronary artery disease (CAD) is controversial. Transcarotid stenting with flow reversal (TCAR) is a novel hybrid technique for carotid revascularization. We sought to investigate the safety and feasibility of simultaneous TCAR and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for concomitant carotid and CAD.

METHODS

A single-institution, retrospective study of patients with critical carotid artery stenosis and symptomatic CAD who underwent simultaneous TCAR-CABG was completed. The primary outcomes were technical success, perioperative stroke, death, and hemorrhage.

RESULTS

Four patients underwent TCAR-CABG. All patients were male with a mean age of 64. Technical success was achieved in all cases. There were no perioperative strokes or deaths. There were no reexplorations for hemorrhage.

CONCLUSIONS

Transcarotid stenting with flow reversal-CABG is a technically feasible hybrid approach for simultaneous carotid and coronary revascularization. It should be part of the vascular surgeon's armamentarium for coexisting carotid and coronary disease. Further research focused on patient selection and perioperative antiplatelet management is warranted prior to the widespread adoption of this technique.

One-day, sequential carotid artery stenting followed by cardiac surgery in patients with severe carotid and cardiac disease

Optimal management of patients with internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis concurrent with severe cardiac disease remains undefined. The aim of this study is to evaluate the safety and feasibility of the one-day, sequential approach by carotid artery stenting (CAS) immediately followed by cardiac surgery. The study included 70 consecutive patients with symptomatic > 50% or ⩾ 80% asymptomatic ICA stenosis coexisting with severe coronary/valve disease, who underwent one-day, sequential CAS + cardiac surgery. The majority of patients (85.7%) had CSS class III or IV angina and 10% had non-ST elevation myocardial infarction. The EuroSCORE II risk was 2.4% (IQR 1.69-3.19%). All CAS procedures were performed according to the 'tailored' algorithm with a substantial use of proximal neuroprotection devices of 44.3%. Closed-cell (75.7%) and mesh-covered (18.6%) stents were implanted in most cases. The majority of patients underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (88.6%) or isolated valve replacement (7.1%). No major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) occurred at the CAS stage. There were three (4.3%) perioperative MACCE: one myocardial infarction and two deaths. All MACCE were related to cardiac surgery and were due to the high surgical risk profile of the patients. Up to 30 days, no further MACCE were observed. No perioperative or 30-day neurological complications occurred. In this patient series, one-day, sequential CAS and cardiac surgery was relatively safe and did not result in neurological complications. Thus, a strategy of preoperative CAS could be considered for patients with severe or symptomatic ICA stenosis who require urgent cardiac surgery.

The Association Between SYNTAX Score II and Carotid Artery Disease Severity in Patients Who Underwent Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

The SYNTAX score (SS) and SS II, which include additional clinical parameters, are widely used today for deciding revascularization following coronary angiography. We investigated the association between the presence and severity of carotid artery disease (CrAD) using the SS and SS II in 287 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting. We based this investigation on the known association between coronary artery disease and CrAD. A significant association was observed between the groups with and without CrAD in terms of SS II values (28.4 ± 9.6 vs 21.4 ± 7.7, respectively; P < .001). A significant difference was also observed when stenosis was classified according to severity as <50%, 50% to 70%, and >70% ( P < .001). The results indicated a positive correlation between the presence and severity of CrAD as SS II increased ( r = 0.187, P = .005). According to the results of multivariate logistic regression analysis, the SS II was an independent predictor of CrAD.

Approach to concurrent coronary and carotid artery disease: Epidemiology, screening and treatment

Summary The concomitance between coronary artery disease and carotid artery disease is known and well documented. However, it is a fact that, despite the screening methods for these conditions and the advances in surgical treatment, little has been achieved in terms of reducing the risk of complications in the perioperative period. Publications are scarce, being mostly composed of reports or case series. There is little agreement on the best initial therapeutic approach (myocardial versus carotid revascularization) or the best technique to be used (surgery with or without extracorporeal circulation, hybrid treatments, etc.). The authors performed a review of the evidence in this clinical scenario, raising pragmatic questions that help in the therapeutic decision.

Combining carotid endarterectomy with off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery is safe and effective

Background:

We, as neurologists, are frequently consulted to give neurological clearance for surgery in patients who are undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and have suffered from stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) in past. Similarly clearance is also sought in another group of patients who, though have not suffered from stroke or TIA, but found to have significant carotid stenosis on routine screening prior to surgery. Cardiac surgeons and anesthetists want to know the risk of perioperative stroke in such patients and should carotid endarterectomy (CEA) be done along with CABG. In absence of any clear-cut guideline, neurologists often fail to give any specific recommendation.

Aim:

To find out safety and efficacy of synchronous CEA in patients undergoing CABG.

Design:

Retrospective study.

Materials and Methods:

Out of 3,700 patients who underwent CABG, 150 were found to have severe carotid stenosis of >70%. Out of this, 46 patients with >80% stenosis (three symptomatic and 43 asymptomatic) and one patient with >70% symptomatic carotid stenosis (TIA within last 2 weeks) were taken for simultaneous CEA along with CABG. These three symptomatic carotid patients had suffered from stroke within last 6 months.

Results:

One patient with asymptomatic near total occlusion of carotid artery suffered from hyperperfusion syndrome. None suffered from ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction (MI), or death during perioperative period.

Conclusion:

Combining CEA along with CABG is a safe and effective procedure.

Should patients with asymptomatic significant carotid stenosis undergo simultaneous carotid and cardiac surgery?

A best evidence topic in cardiovascular surgery was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was whether patients with severe asymptomatic carotid and coronary artery diseases should undergo simultaneous carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). A total of 624 papers were found using the reported search, of which 20 represent the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, journal, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study results of these papers are tabulated. Previous cohort studies showed mixed results, while advocating for the necessity of a randomized controlled trial (RCT). A recent RCT showed that patients undergoing prophylactic or simultaneous CEA + CABG had lower rates of stroke (0%) compared with delayed CEA 1-3 months after CABG (7.7%), without significant perioperative mortality difference. This study included patients with unilateral severe (>70%) asymptomatic carotid stenosis requiring CABG. An earlier partly randomized trial also showed better outcomes for patients undergoing simultaneous procedures (P = 0.045). Interestingly, systematic reviews previously failed to show compelling evidence supporting prophylactic CEA. This could be partly due to the fact that these reviews collectively analyse different cohort qualities. Neurological studies have, however, shown reduced cognitive and phonetic quality and function in patients with unilateral and bilateral asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis. Twenty-one RCTs comparing lone carotid artery stenting (CAS) and CEA informed the American Heart Association guidelines, which declared CAS comparable with CEA for symptomatic and asymptomatic carotid stenosis (CS). However, the risk of death/stroke for CAS alone is double that for CEA alone in the acute phase following onset of symptoms, while CEA alone is associated with a doubled risk of myocardial infarction. There is, however, no significant difference for combined 30-day risk of death/stroke/myocardial infarction. Outcomes of hybrid or simultaneous CAS/CABG procedures show comparable results, albeit from rather small cohorts. While current evidence leans towards simultaneous CEA/CABG, the emergence of hybrid operating theatres in various institutions may allow larger cohorts with subsequent significant data on simultaneous CAS/CABG. A randomized controlled trial comparing both approaches would be crucial in informing future updates of existing guidelines.