Association between stroke and carotid artery blood block interval in trans-carotid transcatheter aortic valve replacement: A retrospective observational study

Objectives: Patients undergoing trans-carotid transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TC-TAVR) are more likely to suffer from a stroke because of cerebral blood hypoperfusion and blood occlusion caused by the introducer sheath compared with the trans-femoral (TF) approach. The present study aimed to compare the incidence of stroke between the TC and TF approaches and explore the causes of stroke after TAVR. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 414 consecutive patients with severe aortic valve stenosis who underwent TC- or TF-TAVR at our center from October 2010 to November 2019; these patients were included in this observational study. The clinical data, such as the incidence of stroke, were compared between TC- and TF-TAVR patients. The correlation between carotid artery blood block interval (CABBI) and neurological events was also analyzed. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University (approval No. YL2014-32). Results: Patients undergoing TC-TAVR had a significantly higher incidence of stroke than those undergoing TF-TAVR (12.5% vs. 0, P 0.05). Moreover, in TC-TAVR patients, the average CABBI of stroke was significantly longer than that of nonstroke patients (61.7 ± 20.7 min vs. 25.1 ± 1.6 min, P = 0.001). The number of patients with CABBI >30 min in the stroke group was greater than that in the nonstroke group (P