A Michigan Medicine study suggests that hospitals without the highest stroke care designation may be missing strokes that occur after a common heart valve replacement procedure.
Researchers analyzed outcomes of more than 6,200 transcatheter aortic valve replacements performed at 22 Michigan hospitals between 2016 and mid-2019 using data from the Michigan Structural Heart Consortium. The study zeroed in on identification of stroke after TAVR, a minimally invasive procedure to replace a thickened aortic valve with a manmade one, at health systems with and without certification by the Joint Commission as a comprehensive stroke center, the highest certification for acute stroke care.
The findings, published in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, reveal that comprehensive stroke centers reported significantly greater rates of stroke up to 30 days after TAVR — 2.21 times higher than hospitals without the designation.
