Safety of carotid endarterectomy in patients over 70 years old in early period after ischemic stroke

Objective. To assess the influence of age on the outcomes of carotid endarterectomy in patients over 70 years old. Material and methods. The study included 63 patients who were divided into 2 groups depending on age. The first group included 28 patients >70 years old, the second group — 35 patients younger than 70 years. Somatic status of advanced age patients was more severe compared to younger ones. Men prevailed among patients over 70 years old. Results. We analyzed surgical site bleeding, stroke recurrence and mortality in postoperative period. There were no significant differences in the incidence of these complications. According to our data, the most important cause of mortality was stroke recurrence (r=0.8, p<0.05). A more detailed statistical analysis revealed the following risk factors of stroke: contralateral carotid artery stenosis ≥70% (r=0.35, p<0.05), chronic kidney disease (r=0.36, p<0.05) and redo interventions at the surgical site (r=0.4, p<0.05). In addition, age did not affect the outcomes of surgery (p=0.79). Conclusion. Age of patients over 70 years does not affect the results of carotid endarterectomy. At the same time, important factors in all age groups predisposing to recurrent ischemic stroke were contralateral carotid artery stenosis ≥70%, chronic kidney disease and redo interventions at the surgical site.