title: Synchronous cardiocerebral infarction in the era of endovascular therapy: which to treat first?
abstract: A cardiocerebral ischemic attack (CCI) or a concurrent acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and myocardial infarction (AMI) is a severe event with no clear recommendations for ideal management because of the rarity of the scenario. The narrow time window for treatment and complexity of the treatment decision puts immense pressure on the treating physician. We evaluated this challenging situation at our tertiary center. Using our prospective stroke database out of a total of 555 patients with acute ischemic stroke between 2009 and 2014, we identified five consecutive cases with CCI (incidence 0.009%). Demography, risk factor characteristics, vascular occlusions and treatment approach were recorded. Good functional outcome was defined by the modified Rankin scale (mRS) score of 0-2 points. Out of five patients, AIS was treated with endovascular treatment in three cases, while two were treated with intravenous thrombolysis only. One out of three patients had embolectomy of the brain performed prior to the coronary intervention, while the other two patients underwent coronary intervention first. One patient developed sudden cardiac arrest on day-2 and passed away. CCI is an uncommon and devastating clinical scenario, further research is needed for the ideal management strategy that provides the best outcomes. However, the rarity of the disease does not lend itself to the conduct of a trial easily. We have proposed a considered treatment algorithm based on the current literature and our experience.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, National University Health System, 1 E Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119228, Singapore. leonard_ll_yeo@nuhs.edu.sg.|Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Neurology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. leonard_ll_yeo@nuhs.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Leonard L L
authors.initials: LLL
authors.lastname: Yeo
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Tommy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, National University Health System, 1 E Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119228, Singapore.
authors.forename: Kong Wan
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Yee
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, National University Health System, 1 E Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119228, Singapore.
authors.forename: Benjamin Y Q
authors.initials: BYQ
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, National University Health System, 1 E Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119228, Singapore.|Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Neurology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Prakash
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Paliwal
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Anil
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gopinathan
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Mahendran
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nadarajah
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ting
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, National University Health System, 1 E Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119228, Singapore.
authors.forename: Hock L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Teoh
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, National University Heart Centre, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cherian
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Neurology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lundström
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, National University Heart Centre, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Edgar L W
authors.initials: ELW
authors.lastname: Tay
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, National University Health System, 1 E Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119228, Singapore.|Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Vijay K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000465:Algorithms; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D062645:Percutaneous Coronary Intervention; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: Acute ischemic care; Endovascular thrombolysis; Myocardial infarction; Percutaneous coronary intervention