Low Incidence of Ischemic Stroke Associated With Thrombus Aspiration in STEMI Patients Undergoing Primary PCI

Thrombus aspiration (TA) during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) was recommended to minimize distal embolization and to reduce thrombus burden prior to PPCI. Subsequent randomized trials showed no mortality benefit from TA and suggested an increased risk of stroke up to 180 days following TA, although it was not obvious that the procedure alone caused the strokes.

This study retrospectively analyzed the periprocedural stroke rate in a series of STEMI patients treated with TA and PPCI at a single, large, tertiary hospital, where a rigorous uniform protocol of aspiration was used in all patients. Of 3734 patients, 1404 patients (38%; group 1) underwent TA as part of the PPCI procedure and 2330 patients (62%; group 2) did not undergo TA. There were no significant clinical differences between the 2 groups. In total, there were 20 strokes (0.54%), with 3 (0.2%) occurring in group 1, and 17 (0.7%) occurring in group 2 (P=.04). The majority of strokes occurred within 5 days of the procedure, and 3 (0.08%) were hemorrhagic. There were 22 intraprocedural deaths (0.6%), related to cardiogenic shock. There were no intraprocedural strokes.

Very low stroke rates immediately post STEMI were seen in patients undergoing TA and PPCI in this real-world study. TA can be performed safely in STEMI patients undergoing PPCI with a short-term stroke risk equivalent to risk without TA. Further studies may be needed to explain the increased incidence of late stroke noted after TA and elucidate causative mechanisms.