Abstract
BackgroundCarotid stenosis is a known risk factor for ischemic stroke, and carotid artery stenting is an effective preventive procedure. However, the stroke risk reduction for asymptomatic patients is small. Therefore, it is important to reduce the risk of complications, particularly in asymptomatic carotid stenosis. Statins are known to reduce the overall risk of periprocedural complications, although there is a lack of data focusing on asymptomatic patients. We aimed to investigate whether different doses of statin pretreatment can reduce periprocedural complications of carotid artery stenting (CAS) in patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis.MethodsBetween July 2003 and June 2013, 276 consecutive patients received CAS for asymptomatic carotid stenosis. Periprocedural complications included the outcome of stroke, myocardial infarction, or death within 30 days of CAS. Statin pretreatment was categorized as no-statin (n = 87, 31.5%), standard-dose (< 40 mg, n = 139, 50.4%), and high-dose statin (≥40 mg, n = 50, 18.1%) according to the atorvastatin equivalent dose. The Cochran-Armitage (CA) trend test was performed to investigate the association of periprocedural complications with statin dose.ResultsThe overall periprocedural complication rate was 3.3%. There was no significant difference in the risk of periprocedural complications between the three groups (no statin: n = 3 [3.4%]; standard-dose: n = 4 [2.9%]; high-dose n = 2 [4.0%] p = 0.923). The CA trend test did not demonstrate a trend in the proportion of periprocedural complications across increasing statin equivalent doses (p = 0.919).ConclusionsStatin pretreatment before CAS showed neither absolute nor dose-dependent effects against periprocedural complications in asymptomatic patients undergoing CAS.
Highlights
Carotid artery atheromatous disease accounts for approximately 10–20% of ischemic strokes [1, 2]
Our previous study showed that statin pretreatment reduced the incidence of periprocedural complications dose-dependently in patients who underwent carotid artery stenting (CAS) for symptomatic carotid artery stenosis [10]
We aimed to investigate whether statin pretreatment is dose-dependently associated with a reduction of periprocedural complications in patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis who underwent CAS
Summary
Carotid artery atheromatous disease accounts for approximately 10–20% of ischemic strokes [1, 2]. The absolute risk reduction associated with CAS in patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis is small [4]. Our previous study showed that statin pretreatment reduced the incidence of periprocedural complications dose-dependently in patients who underwent CAS for symptomatic carotid artery stenosis [10]. This dose-effectiveness has not yet been proven in patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis. Carotid stenosis is a known risk factor for ischemic stroke, and carotid artery stenting is an effective preventive procedure. We aimed to investigate whether different doses of statin pretreatment can reduce periprocedural complications of carotid artery stenting (CAS) in patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis
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