Intravenous Recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator Therapy for Acute Basilar Artery Ischemic Stroke Following Transfemoral Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) can now be considered a standard of care for inoperable and high-risk surgical patients with severe aortic stenosis, and its uptake worldwide is rapidly increasing. Indeed, many centers performing the procedure have now moved towards treating intermediate-risk patients with TAVI rather than referring them for surgical aortic valve replacement. Although the incidence of peri-procedural acute and subacute stroke following TAVI has fallen to 2-5%, its occurrence can be life-threatening and life-changing, and every effort must be made to improve patient outcome should stroke occur. Many cardiologists would not instinctively consider the use of thrombolytic therapy for post-transfemoral TAVI ischemic stroke because of concern about the risk of major bleeding from the access site, despite it being a standard of care for ischemic stroke in other circumstances. The present case highlights the benefit of using intravenous thrombolytic therapy for an acute basilar artery thrombotic stroke after transfemoral TAVI (TF-TAVI) that would otherwise have almost certainly resulted in the patient's death. The case may also prompt interventional cardiologists to consider performing TF-TAVI under conscious sedation rather than general anesthesia, as this can result in an earlier detection of acute stroke and allow an earlier intervention with thrombolytic agents, with an improved outcome.