Objective:

To compare the 1-month stroke, myocardial infarction (MI), and/or death rates among symptomatic patients undergoing either CAS or CEA according to the timing of the procedure in Carotid Revascularization Endarterectomy versus Stenting Trial (CREST).

Background:

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) 2021 guidelines state that in patients in whom revascularization is planned within 1 week of the index stroke, it is reasonable to choose carotid endarterectomy (CEA) over carotid artery stent placement (CAS) to reduce the periprocedural stroke rate.

Design/Methods:

We analyzed the effect of CAS and CEA on the rates of 1-month stroke, MI, and/or death after adjusting age, gender, presenting symptom (transient ischemic attack [TIA], retinal ischemia, or minor ischemic stroke), severity of stenosis (50-69% and 70-99%), and timing of procedure (≤7 days and >7 days post qualifying event) using multivariate analysis.

Results:

The rate of 1-month stroke, MI, and/or death was higher (non-significant) in patients who underwent CAS compared with those who underwent CEA within ≤7 days post-qualifying event (8 of 157 [5.1%] versus 3 of 124 [2.4%], p=0.251). In the multivariate analysis, there was no difference in the odds of 1-month stroke, MI, and/or death in patients who underwent CEA compared with those who underwent CAS (odds ratio [OR] 0.57, 95% CI 0.26-1.20, p=0.15). The only significant factors associated with decreased odds of 1-month stroke, MI, and/or death were the qualifying event of TIA (OR 0.13, 95% CI 0.02-0.57, p=0.02) and retinal ischemic event (OR 0.13, 95% CI 0.01-0.63, p=0.02).

Conclusions:

In our analysis, we did not identify any increase in odds of a 1-month stroke, MI, and/or death rate with CAS compared with CEA according to the timing of the procedure. Qualifying event characteristics rather than the timing of procedure appeared to be the most determinant, highlighting the need to revisit the recommendations in the AHA/ASA guidelines.