Long-Term Outcomes for Patients With Stroke After Coronary and Valve Surgery

Background: Postoperative stroke is one of the most devastating complications of cardiac surgery. When life-threatening situations such as large infarction and hemorrhage occur, neurosurgical procedures may be performed. In this study, we analyzed the long-term medical and surgical outcomes of stroke after cardiac surgery. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, nationwide, population-based study. All enrolled patients underwent first-time cardiac surgery and were further divided into the subgroups of nonstroke, stroke with medical treatment, and stroke with neurosurgical treatment. All-cause mortality, recurrent stroke, and readmission were analyzed. Results: We included 67,051 patients in this study. Patients with postoperative stroke (2.6%, n = 1,731) exhibited an in-hospital mortality rate of 12.3% (n = 213) and a 5-year mortality rate of 49.1% (n = 850). Unprecedentedly, the 83 patients who underwent neurosurgical procedures exhibited an in-hospital mortality of 16.9%; this rate increased to 65.1% at the 5-year follow-up. This neurosurgical subgroup exhibited the highest rate of long-term mortality (p < 0.001). In the neurosurgical subgroup, age was the risk factor for all-cause mortality (hazard ratio, 2.60; 95% confidence interval, 1.60–4.24; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Postoperative stroke often leads to high mortality and poor long-term outcomes. Patients who experienced a severe stroke and underwent neurosurgical procedures also exhibited poor outcomes. Patients and their families should be informed of relatively high mortality and poor long-term outcomes before neurosurgical operation.