Hospital and long-term results of carotid endarterectomy in patients with different severity of coronary artery lesion according to syntax score

Aim: Analysis of in-hospital and long-term results of carotid endarterectomy (CEE) in patients with different severity of coronary atherosclerosis.

Material and methods: This comparative, retrospective, open study for the period from January 2013 to April 2020 included 1719 patients operated on for occlusive-stenotic lesions of the internal carotid arteries (ICA). Classical and eversion CEA were used as revascularization strategies. The criteria for inclusion in the study were: 1. Presence of coronary angiography within six months before the present CEE; 2. A history of myocardial revascularization in patients with severe coronary lesions. Depending on the severity of coronary atherosclerosis, all patients were divided into 3 groups: Group 1-871 (50.7 %) patients - with the presence of hemodynamically significant stenosis of the coronary arteries (CA) with a history of myocardial revascularization; Group 2-496 (28.8 %) patients - with the presence of hemodynamically insignificant lesions of the coronary artery (up to 70 %, not inclusive, and the trunk of the left coronary artery, up to 50 %, not inclusive); Group 3-352 (20.5 %) patients - without signs of atherosclerotic lesions of the coronary artery. In group 1, the observation period was 56.8±23.2 months, in group 2-62.0±15.6 months, in group 3-58.1±20.4 months.

Results: During the hospital observation period, there were no significant intergroup differences in the number of complications. All cardiovascular events were detected in isolated cases. The most common injury was damage to the cranial nerves, diagnosed in every fifth patient in the total sample. The combined endpoint (CET), including death + myocardial infarction (MI) + acute cerebrovascular accident/transient ischemic attack (stroke/TIA), was 0.75 % (n=13). In the long-term follow-up period, when comparing survival curves, group 3 revealed the largest number of ischemic strokes (p = 0.007), myocardial infarction (p = 0.03), and CCT (p = 0.005). There were no intergroup differences in the number of deaths (p=0.62).

Conclusion: The results of the study showed that there was no significant intergroup difference in the development of complications at the hospital postoperative stage. However, in the long-term follow-up period, a group of patients with isolated lesions of the ICA demonstrated a rapid increase in the number of MI, stroke/TIA, and a combined endpoint, which was apparently associated with low compliance and progression of atherosclerosis in previously unaffected arteries.