Ethical Considerations in the Treatment of Cerebrovascular Disease

To care for patients with cerebrovascular disease (CVD), neurointerventionalists, intensivists, and other healthcare providers must be equipped to address associated ethical challenges. This review aims to delineate the applicability of fundamental bioethical approaches to CVD, highlight key ethical issues in CVD care, and delineate an ethical framework to streamline ethical decision-making for people with CVD. Three introductory cases are presented. The four key principles of principalism and the approach of narrative ethics are described with reference to CVD. Key ethical considerations include decision-making capacity and informed consent, uncertainty, and resource allocation. A categorization of CVD as emergent/nonemergent and the recommended management as intervention/no intervention helps frame the spectrum of CVD. A different six-pathway may then be taken based on which category the patient case corresponds to. Physicians involved in the care of people with cerebrovascular disease must understand how the ethical issues manifest in individual patient cases to ensure appropriate care. The aforementioned ethical framework may aid physicians in providing ethically sound care. All decisions must involve a balance between clinical expertise and patient values and preferences or those articulated by a surrogate to properly respect the wishes of patients with CVD.