Embolic protection in carotid artery stenting: new options

Carotid artery stenting (CAS) has emerged as an attractive alternative to carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in patients with carotid disease who are at high risk for CEA. With increasing experience and improved technique, results in CAS patients have improved consistently over time in several clinical trials. Carotid stenting is clearly not inferior to CEA in appropriately selected high-CEA-risk patients treated by experienced operators. With improving results, CAS now has the potential to be considered "front-line therapy" even in standard-risk CEA patients, as demonstrated in CREST and as being studied in ongoing trials, such as the ACT I trial. Successful, low-risk CAS can only be performed if distal embolization is minimized during this procedure. This can be accomplished only with appropriate patient and case selection, adequate operator training and experience, and meticulous attention to procedural detail. Embolic protection devices (EPDs) are an important cornerstone of low-risk CAS. There are well-established, study-validated embolic protection systems available for CAS. Four new EPD options have been introduced in the United States over the past 3 years. Results with these newer devices appear to be extremely promising, with low event rates seen in high-risk clinical patients. This article will offer a practical review of techniques to decrease distal embolization during CAS. We will review patient selection and provide a "cookbook" approach to procedural technique, emphasizing techniques unique to each of the various EPD systems currently available. We will also introduce the newer options in EPDs, provide practical tips on their use, and contrast their use and results with that of the existing EPD systems. We will provide practical procedural techniques that incorporate the use of various EPDs into strategies that will reduce distal embolization during CAS and also provide pertinent data referencing results of these devices seen in clinical trials.