Evaluation of Neurological Outcome in Patients Undergoing Cerebral Angiography and Revascularization Using Angioplasty and Stent-Supported Angioplasty

We hypothesize that the incidence of subtle neuropsychometric injury will be significantly greater than the incidence of stroke comparable to what we found in patients having carotid endarterectomy. Patients will be evaluated prospectively to determine the incidence of neurological morbidity based on both the neurologic/neuropsychometric examinations

The results of this study will serve to (a) determine incidence of neurologic/neuropsychometric morbidity for patients undergoing carotid artery angioplasty and/or stenting at ColumbiaPresbyterian Medical Center, (b) ascertain the time course of these changes, (c) identify intraprocedural markers for these changes, and (d) design protocols to evaluate the efficacy of therapeutic interventions.

Cerebral injury will be determined three ways.

First, all patients will be evaluated using a battery of neuropsychometric tests before and after the procedure. Persons presenting to the hospital on the day of the procedure, referred to hereafter as "Same Day", will be evaluated on the day of the procedure, one day after and at the 1 month follow up.

Preoperative neurological and neuropsychological evaluation will be performed. The neuropsychometric tests are designed to demonstrate general neuropsychological pathology. These tests can be divided into four types: (1) an evaluation of language, (2) an evaluation of speed of mental processing, (3) an evaluation of ability to learn using a list of words, and (4) an evaluation of visual perception requiring a patient to copy a complex figure. Before the battery is administered we will assess each patient's level of pain while sitting and standing using a 10 point Visual Analog Scale and then gauge their mood with a series called the Wong/Baker Faces Rating scale.