An analysis of a New York registry with 1174 patients who underwent thrombectomy showed a correlation between general anesthesia and death. Several other studies that only compared embolectomies done with and without general anesthesia generally reported results favoring conscious sedation. However, studies that looked at a more nuanced picture of peri-procedural physiology suggested that the main driver in the difference had more to do with hypotension.10,11 A retrospective study of 250 patients concluded that a change of even 10% in mean arterial pressure almost quadrupled the risk for poor outcomes.

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