Clinical Trials

Microembolization is commonly associated with carotid artery stenting (CAS), but our understanding of subclinical microembolization is superficial. Through collaborative effects of multidisciplinary team-experts, novel approaches, and longitudinal evaluations, we hope to better understand the clinical significance and long-term cognitive effects of microemboli. This proposal may change our current clinical practice by providing a better outcome measure for carotid interventions and improving outcomes of CAS procedures through risk factor stratification. Our central hypothesis is that development of subclinical microemboli is associated with decline in cognitive function following CAS and that the risk of development of microemboli themselves is associated with patient- and procedure-related factors. We hope that this prospective study will help to clarify these important issues in the era of rapidly evolving percutaneous interventions.