Data Collection
Pre-operative and intra-operative data were collected from clinical
records. The main variable investigated was stroke, defined as an acute
focal neurological event with a positive magnetic resonance imaging,
regardless of duration of clinical symptoms, or a persistent focal
neurological deficit lasting longer than 24 hours. Diagnosis of stroke
was determined by our cardiac surgical team (at least one cardiac
surgeon and one cardiac anesthesiologist) and confirmed by a neurologist
in all cases; patients with stroke underwent brain computed tomography
and magnetic resonance and the presence of stroke was verified in all
patients.
Patients were subsequently followed in our outpatient clinic (67%) or
through phone calls (33%). New neurological and cardiac events
(recurrence of angina, acute myocardial infarction, new
revascularization procedures, whether percutaneous or surgical) as well
as survival data were collected.