Carotid Vascular Disease: Carotid Vascular Disease: Treatment options using Treatment options using
surgery and interventional surgery and interventional radiologyradiology
Emily Borod
MS3
Carotid Vascular DiseaseCarotid Vascular Disease
Stroke is 3rd leading cause of death in US (behind heart disease and cancer)
Mortality from acute event is 20%50% of patients are alive after 5 years4% of survivors require long-term skilled
nursing care25% of survivors will have a second
neurologic event
Signs/symptoms of carotid Signs/symptoms of carotid vascular diseasevascular disease
TIA (Transient Ischemic Attacks): focal neurologic defects with resolution of symptoms within 24 hours
RIND (Reversible Ischemic Neurologic Deficit): transient neurologic defects lasting 24-72 hrs
Amaurosis fugax: temporary blindness in one eye, frequently described as “curtain coming down” due to microemboli in retina
CVA (Cerebrovascular accident): neurologic deficit with permanent brain damage
Evaluating carotid diseaseEvaluating carotid disease
Duplex Doppler ultrasonographyCarotid Doppler ultrasonographyMagnetic resonance angiography (MRA)Carotid angiography (gold standard)
Sensitivity/specificity of noninvasive tests to predict stenoses >70% is 83-86%/89-94%
Duplex Doppler ultrasonographyDuplex Doppler ultrasonography
MRA of carotid stenosisMRA of carotid stenosis
Carotid angiographyCarotid angiography
Treatment optionsTreatment options
Medical treatment (not as effective for more advanced disease)
Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) Nonsurgical carotid revascularization using
angioplasty and stenting
Treatment recommended for:– Asymptomatic pts with >60% stenosis– Symptomatic pts with >50% stenosis
Carotid endarterectomyCarotid endarterectomy
Performed through neck incision, usually along sternocleidomastoid muscle
Proximal and distal control of artery is obtained While patient is heparinized, internal and external
carotid arteries are clamped Longitudinal arteriotomy is performed, carotid
plaque is removed, and vessel is closed over a patch
Complications of carotid Complications of carotid endarterectomyendarterectomy
(perioperative mortality <0.5-3.0%, related level of (perioperative mortality <0.5-3.0%, related level of expertise of surgeons)expertise of surgeons)
Cardiac events Postoperative stroke Hyperperfusion
syndrome Nerve injury
Bleeding Infection Parotitis Re-stenosis
Postoperative cardiac eventsPostoperative cardiac events
Appropriate cardiac work-up is essentialBecause these patients have atherosclerotic
disease in the carotids, it must be assumed that they have atherosclerotic disease elsewhere
Exercise stress testing, dobutamine echocardiography, dipyridamole imaging, or coronary catherization should be used
Postoperative strokePostoperative stroke
Factors that contribute to postoperative stroke:– Plaque emboli– Platelet aggregates– Improper flushing– Poor cerebral protection– Relative hypotension
Hyperperfusion syndromeHyperperfusion syndrome
Cerebral hyperperfusion is the leading cause of intracerebral hemorrhage and seizures during the first two weeks following CEA
Causes changes in low-flow carotid vascular bed
Small vessels compensate by dilating, then cannot re-constrict properly and therefore cannot protect vascular bed
Nerve injuryNerve injury
Nerves at risk for injury during CEA include:– Vagus nerve– Recurrent laryngeal nerve– Facial nerve– Glossopharyngeal nerve– Hypoglossal nerve– Branches of trigeminal nerve
Re-stenosisRe-stenosis
Re-stenosis following CEA occurs in 20% of patients overall, and 2.6-10% at 5 years
Re-stenosis within 6 months is more common when smooth muscle cells are abundant in lesion and is less common when lesions are rich in lymphocytes and macrophages
Late re-stenosis results from progression of atherosclerotic disease
Carotid endarterectomyCarotid endarterectomy
Predictors of mortality Predictors of mortality following CEAfollowing CEA
Increased ageMale sex (relative risk 1.58)Diabetes (RR 1.48)Systemic hypertension (RR 1.31)Smoking (RR 1.13)
Predictors of recurrence Predictors of recurrence following CEAfollowing CEA
Elevated cholesterolSystemic hypertension (RR 1.42)Smoking (RR 1.47)
Nonsurgical carotid Nonsurgical carotid revascularizationrevascularization
Percutaneous catheterization techniques have led to carotid angioplasty and stent placement
Less invasive (performed with local anesthesia and sedation)
Less likely to precipitate cardiac eventsTechnique can also be used to repair
stenosis that is more cephalad
Technique used in Technique used in nonsurgical carotid repairnonsurgical carotid repair
Catheter with umbrella tip is inserted in stenotic carotid via femoral artery
Balloon is inflated to dilate arteryStent is placed in artery to maintain patencyFilters are used to capture embolic particles
Examples of stents used in Examples of stents used in carotid revascularizationcarotid revascularization
Filters used in carotid repairFilters used in carotid repair
Pre- and post-stenting Pre- and post-stenting angiographyangiography
Risks of nonsurgical vascular Risks of nonsurgical vascular repairrepair
Plaques may be dislodged during procedure leading to neurologic events
Re-stenosis is common in long term follow-up (15%) and may be difficult to treat surgically
Dissection has been shown to occur in 5% of patients following stenting
More studies comparing CEA to nonsurgical repair must be completed
CEA vs stentingCEA vs stenting
Several studies have been carried out or are in progress to compare CEA and repair of carotid artery disease using interventional radiology
Because of the potentially significant and lasting damage from a stroke and the relative success of CEA, studies comparing the two treatment options have been somewhat slow to be carried out
Most of the early studies compare the two techniques in specific patient groups (i.e. elderly patients or poor surgical candidates)
WALLSTENT trialWALLSTENT trial
219 patients with symptomatic stenosis Carotid arteries were 60-90% occluded Patients were randomly assigned to receive CEA
or angioplasty and stenting (without protective filter device)
1-yr follow-up showed significantly higher rate of post-procedure stroke with angioplasty and stenting group compared to CEA group (12.2 vs 3.6%)
SAPPHIRE studySAPPHIRE study
CEA vs carotid stenting with protective filter device
334 patients with concurrent conditions that made them poor surgical candidates
Symptomatic carotid stenosis of 50% or asymptomatic stenosis of 80%
Primary end-point: major cardiovascular event within one year (death, stroke, MI)
Results of SAPPHIRE studyResults of SAPPHIRE study
Major cardiovascular events within one year were more common in CEA group than in angioplasty and stenting group (20.1% compared to 12.2%)
Carotid revascularization was repeated within one year in fewer patients with stents than in patients who underwent CEA (0.6% and 4.3%, p=.04)
Stenting vs CEA in elderly patientsStenting vs CEA in elderly patients
Retrospective study of pts 75 years old who had been treated for carotid stenosis
53 pts who had undergone stenting between June 2001 and April 2004 were compared to 110 pts who had undergone CEA between January 1997 and December 2001
Primary outcome was MI or major, minor, or fatal stroke within one month of treatment
Results of CEA vs stenting in Results of CEA vs stenting in elderly patients elderly patients
Incidence of major or minor stroke within 30 days of treatment was significantly higher in stenting than in CEA group (11.3% to 1.8%, P<0.05)
Incidence of major stroke within 30 days was similar in the two groups, but incidence of minor strokes was higher in stenting group (7.5% vs 0%, P<0.05)
Protective embolic filter devices were used in this trial
CAVATAS trialCAVATAS trial
504 pts with carotid stenosis were randomly assigned to CEA or angioplasty and stenting
Results showed similar major risks and effectiveness of the two treatment options
Outcomes following surgery were worse than outcomes reported in major trials evaluating carotid surgery, supporting the fact that there is a great deal of variability in outcome depending on surgeon expertise
ConclusionConclusion
Carotid vascular disease is prevalent in the US and results in significant mortality and morbidity when untreated
Results of trials comparing the invasive treatment options are ongoing and have shown somewhat conflicting results
Studies support the use of angioplasty and stenting in certain patient populations
Conclusion Conclusion
Patients with carotid stenosis who are likely to benefit more from carotid angioplasty and stenting than from CEA include pts with significant comorbidities that make them poor surgical candidates
Elderly pts may be at higher risk of having a minor stroke within 30 days following stenting than CEA
The use of protective embolic filters is important in the outcome following angioplasty and stenting
Conclusion Conclusion
Stenting is a promising option for treating carotid stenosis in patients who are high-risk surgical candidates
More studies comparing the revascularization procedures are necessary before treatment recommendations can be refined
Attention to long-term results of stenting should also be compared to long-term CEA results
References References Alhaddad, I.A.; Carotid Artery Surgery vs. Stent: A Cardiovascular
Perspective; Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions; 63:377-384 (2004).
Brott, T.G., et al; Carotid Revascularization for Prevention of Stroke: Carotid Endarterectomy and Carotid Artery Stenting; Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 79(9), 1197-1208 (2004).
Eskandari, M.K., et al; Does Carotid Stenting Measure Up to Endarterectomy? A Vascular Surgeon’s Experience; Archives of Surgery, Vol.139, pp. 734-738 (2004).
Greelish, J.P., et al; Nonsurgical carotid revascularization; UpToDate, www.uptodate.com.
Greelish, J.P., et al; Carotid endarterectomy: Preoperative evaluation, surgical technique, and complications; UpToDate, www.uptodate.com.
References References
Phatouros, C.C., et al; Carotid Artery Stent Placement for Atherosclerotic Disease: Rationale, Technique, and Current Status; Radiology; Oct 2000.
Kastrup, A., et al; Comparison of angioplasty and stenting with cerebral protection versus endarterectomy for treatment of internal carotid artery stenosis in elderly patients; Journal of Vascular Surgery, Nov. 2004.
Kirsch, E.C., et al; Carotid Arterial Stent Placement: Results and Follow-up in 53 Patients; Radiology; Sept. 2001.
Yadav, J.S., et al; Protected Carotid-Artery Stenting versus Endarterectomy in High-Risk Patients; The New England Journal of Medicine, 351:15 (2004).