title: Mechanisms of cerebral injury from cardiac surgery.
abstract: Cerebral injury is a frequent complication of cardiac surgery, and it has been associated with high mortality, morbidity, hospital costs; an increased likelihood of admission to a secondary care facility after hospital discharge; and impaired quality of life. This article examines postulated mechanisms for cerebral injury from cardiac surgery. Most emphasis has been placed in the past on the intraoperative interval as being the period of highest cerebral vulnerability. Many clinical cerebral events, however, occur in the postoperative period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA. chogue2@jhmi.edu
authors.forename: Charles W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Hogue
authors.forename: Rebecca F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Gottesman
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stearns
mesh_terms: D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000209:etiology*; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000009:adverse effects; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D020766:Intracranial Embolism / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007431:Intraoperative Complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000503:physiopathology*