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Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Optimized Management of Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke
Published on: January 18, 2018
Postoperative stroke in patients on oral anticoagulation undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery
Fausto Biancari1, Mikko Myllyl, Pekka Porela
1Department of Surgery, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland. faustobiancari@yahoo.it
Insights
Patients on warfarin undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) face stroke risks. The CHADS(2) score and specific anticoagulation strategies predict postoperative stroke, guiding better patient management.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Surgery
- Neurology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Patients on long-term warfarin therapy have a high risk of stroke.
- Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery carries inherent risks, including postoperative stroke.
- Identifying predictors of stroke in this high-risk population is crucial for improving outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify determinants of postoperative stroke in patients on long-term warfarin treatment undergoing CABG.
- To evaluate the predictive value of logistic regression and classification and regression tree (CART) analyses for postoperative stroke.
Main Methods:
- A consecutive series of 270 patients on long-term warfarin treatment undergoing isolated CABG were analyzed.
- Logistic regression and CART analysis were employed to identify stroke predictors.
- Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to assess predictive accuracy.
Main Results:
- Postoperative stroke occurred in 3.7% of patients during in-hospital stay.
- Logistic regression identified CHADS(2) score > 2, recent thrombolysis, and history of deep vein thrombosis as independent predictors.
- CART analysis indicated CHADS(2) score > 2, history of stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA), no preoperative aspirin, and bridging with low molecular weight heparins as risk factors.
Conclusions:
- Patient characteristics within the CHADS(2) score are significant predictors of postoperative stroke risk after CABG.
- Preoperative antiplatelet therapy may be beneficial for high-risk patients.
- Preoperative bridging with low molecular weight heparins might increase stroke risk in this cohort.
Objective:
Patients on long-term warfarin treatment have an inherent high risk of stroke and here we aimed to identify the determinants of postoperative stroke after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in these patients.
Methods:
A consecutive series of 270 patients on long-term warfarin treatment who underwent isolated CABG in two university hospitals was assessed by logistic regression as well as classification and regression tree (CART) analysis.
Results:
Postoperative stroke occurred in 10 patients during in-hospital stay (3.7%). Logistic regression showed that CHADS(2) > 2 (p = 0.036), recent thrombolysis (p < 0.0001) and history of deep vein thrombosis (p = 0.025) were independent predictors of postoperative stroke (area under the ROC curve 0.77). CART analysis showed that CHADS(2) > 2, history of stroke/TIA, no preoperative use of aspirin and preoperative use of low molecular weight heparins were associated with an increased risk of stroke (area under the ROC curve of 0.77).
Conclusions:
Both CART and logistic regression analyses showed that the patient characteristics included in CHADS(2) score are important also in the prediction of postoperative stroke risk. Preoperative antiplatelet treatment may be beneficial in the high risk patients and the preoperative bridging with low molecular weight heparins may even be harmful in this respect.
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