Risk of stroke with coronary artery bypass graft surgery compared with percutaneous coronary intervention

This study sought to determine whether coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is associated with an increased risk of stroke compared with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Some, but not all, randomized trials have reported increased rates of stroke with CABG compared with PCI. However, all these studies were powered insufficiently to examine differences in the risk of stroke reliably. We performed a meta-analysis of 19 trials in which 10,944 patients were randomized to CABG versus PCI. The primary end point was the 30-day rate of stroke. We also determined the rate of stroke at the midterm follow-up and investigated whether there was an interaction between revascularization type and the extent of coronary artery disease on the relative risk of stroke. The 30-day rate of stroke was 1.20% after CABG compared with 0.34% after PCI (odds ratio: 2.94, 95% confidence interval: 1.69 to 5.09, p < 0.0001). Similar results were observed after a median follow-up of 12.1 months (1.83% vs. 0.99%, odds ratio: 1.67, 95% confidence interval: 1.09 to 2.56, p = 0.02). The extent of coronary artery disease (single vessel vs. multivessel vs. left main) did not affect the relative increase in the risk of stroke observed with CABG compared with PCI at either 30 days (p = 0.57 for interaction) or midterm follow-up (p = 0.08 for interaction). Similar results were observed when the outcomes in 33,980 patients from 27 observational studies were analyzed. Coronary revascularization by CABG compared with PCI is associated with an increased risk of stroke at 30 days and at the mid-term follow-up.