Purpose: Cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs) frequently coexist with coronary artery disease (CAD) and adversely affect prognosis in patients with CAD; however, fewer studies have investigated the role of prior ischemic stroke on the outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The aim of this study was to determine the safety and effectiveness of PCI in patients with a prior ischemic stroke. Methods: A review of patients who underwent PCI between June 2003 and September 2005 (n = 3893) at the Beijing Anzhen Hospital of Capital University of Medical Science, identified 295 PCI patients with a prior ischemic stroke (>= 3 months) and 3598 patients without a prior stroke. To investigate whether prior history of an ischemic stroke was independently associated with increased risk of adverse PCI outcomes, prognostic parameters were analyzed using univariate analysis and Cox multivariate regression analysis. Propensity score analysis was then used to match the two subgroups of patients based on multiple factors known to impact cardiac outcome. Results: Patients with a prior ischemic stroke had more frequent high-risk baseline characteristics (diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and prior myocardial infarction). No signicant differences were found in the major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event (MACCEs) rates between the two groups (1.7% in the stroke group vs. 1.4% in the non-stroke group; p=0.06). Diabetes mellitus, triple vessel CAD, number of diseased vessels, chronic total occlusion and previous myocardial infarction were independent predictors of MACCE in patients with prior stroke undergoing PCI. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that, in daily clinical practice, PCI can be provided safely and with good results to patients with a prior ischemic stroke (>= 3 months).