ABSTRACT
C erebral complications constitute the leading cause of morbidity and disability after heart surgery. Although many cerebral deficits resolve with time, others remain a major handicap with devastating effects on both patients and their families. The reported incidence of perioperative stroke ranges from 0.4% to 5.4% and from 25% to 79% for neurop sychological dysfunction.1'4 This variability depends on a number of factors, some related to the patients themselves, and others to the type of study (retrospective or prospective) or evalu ation tools. With more than 800,000 coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedures be ing performed annually worldwide, the social and economic implications of these complica tions are quite significant.
