Stroke After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: Incidence, Definitions, Etiologies and Management Options

Neurologic complications after transcatheter aortic valve replacement are devastating. The etiologies of stroke in this setting are best addressed in an integrated fashion during each phase of the perioperative pathway. The conduct of this triphasic approach will continue to be refined to reduce the stroke risks even further, given the major focus on aspects such as embolic protection devices and valve thrombosis. This neurologic focus in transcatheter aortic valve replacement has transformed the investigational approach to neurologic events in cardiovascular clinical trials, resulting in novel guidelines for the diagnosis and assessment of neurologic injury after cardiovascular interventions.