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Long-Term Outcomes of Carotid Artery Stenting in Clinical Practice

Background—There is a lack of long-term data and data outside of controlled clinical trials in carotid artery stenting. Thus, we sought to evaluate the long-term effectiveness in stroke prevention by carotid artery stenting in a large number of patients in a real-world setting. Methods and Results—The present work represents an all-comer registry with a strict, prospectively designed, follow-up protocol, including an independent pre- and postprocedural neurological assessment. Between November 1999 and March 2015, 1000 procedures in 901 patients were consecutively performed in a single center. Mean age was 71±9 years, and symptomatic stenosis was present in 262 patients (29.1%). The population was also characterized by a high comorbidity: 289 patients (32.1%) would have been excluded according to the CREST protocol (Carotid Revascularization Endarterectomy Versus Stent Trial). The median length of follow-up was 5.5 (interquartile range, 2.6–7.9) years and complete in 93% of the patients. The rate of the primary end point (composite of stroke, death, and myocardial infarction [major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular event] by day 30 plus ipsilateral stroke beyond 30 days) was 6.9% (9.9% in symptomatic versus 5.7% in asymptomatic patients; P=0.03). The rate was higher in CREST ineligible than in CREST eligible patients (11.4% versus 4.9%; P=0.001). Conclusions—Long-term stroke prevention by carotid artery stenting is effective in experienced centers. A high percentage of patients who would have been excluded from controlled clinical trials undergoes carotid artery stenting in daily clinical practice. However, these patients have a substantially higher risk for an acute major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular event.