The minimum stroke plus death rate was no more than 3% for asymptomatic patients and no more than 5% for symptomatic patients in both CREST and ACAS; both NASCETs had a minimum rate of less than 6% in symptomatic patients.
End Points
The primary end point for both NASCETs as well as ACAS was the number of strokes plus deaths. For CREST, however, the primary end point was the number of strokes, MIs, and deaths. Importantly, the definition of stroke (an acute neurologic ischemic event of at least 24 hours' duration with focal signs and symptoms) was consistent across the trials. In all cases, strokes were adjudicated by neurologists, who were blinded to the treatment.