Cerebrovascular Disease in Surgical Patients

Abstract

It is well established that patients with a personal history of a cerebrovascular accident (stroke or transient ischemic attack) are at increased risk for perioperative cardiovascular complications, including recurrent stroke. Although the individual patient risk for perioperative stroke is typically low, the overall prevalence is significant, appears to be increasing, and has the potential for devastating complications including death. The perioperative provider must not only be knowledgeable of the elevated risk for patients with a history of stroke undergoing surgery, but also be familiar with perioperative risk reduction strategies. This article provides a general overview of cerebrovascular disease in surgical patients with much of the content being presented at the 2023 Perioperative Medicine Summit in Orlando, Florida.