Aims: To answer the question whether the delay in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) after carotid stenting (CAS) results in adverse events, we describe our experience with planned staged CAS followed by CABG.
Methods and results: We retrospectively surveyed our hospital carotid stenting data base, to identify all patients who were scheduled to undergo staged carotid stenting followed by CABG. A total of 39 patients who underwent CAS were candidates for staged CABG but only 28 (71.7%) of them referred. In the interval between carotid stenting and CABG, 4 deaths occurred (14.2% of cases), all of them were in the first week after CAS and due to cardiac problems. Also, 2 patients (7.1%) had a minor stroke. Increased number of predictors of type C (most important was stenosis of 95%-99%), age > 75 or significant valvular heart disease were associated with increased rate of complications after CAS.
Conclusion: Should carotid intervention be performed in the high risk group of patients with > 4 suggested predictors of type C (most importantly is stenosis of 95%-99%), valvular heart disease or age > 75, physicians should closely observe the patients (perhaps in the hospital) during the waiting period before CABG, particularly in the first week after carotid stenting.