Cerebral complications in cardiac surgery: the role of embolization and hypoperfusion.
Cardiac surgery is currently performed on 800,000 patients each year worldwide. Complications involving
the central nervous system account for the major adverse sequelae of the procedure and are
increasing substantially as more elderly patients are undergoing surgery. Strokes occur in 5% of
patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), and in as many as 13% of patients undergoing
open heart surgery. Neuropsychologic impairment occurs more commonly and is persistent in 35% of
patients 1 year after surgery.
Cornell University Medical College, New York, N.Y.
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