Postoperative stroke is common. The risk of postoperative stroke correlates with the presence of risk factors for cerebrovascular disease. In general, an older patient with cardiovascular disease is at greater risk for postoperative stroke than a younger patient with no risk factors for vascular disease. Vascular complications are more likely to be associated with vascular surgical procedures.<sup>54 Turnipseed W.D., Berkoff H.A., Belzer F.O. Postoperative stroke in cardiac and peripheral vascular disease Arch Surg 1980 ;  192 : 365-368  [cross-ref]

Cliquez ici pour aller à la section Références</sup> It is estimated that 8.7% of all stroke occurs while the patient is hospitalized for some other medical condition.<sup>55 Weinfeld F.D. The National Survey of Stroke: Clinical findings Stroke 1981 ;  12 (suppl 1) : 1-27

Cliquez ici pour aller à la section Références</sup> This is a rough estimation because the frequency would be expected to be reflective of the patient population. The risk of postoperative stroke would be expected to be higher in a hospital that services a retirement community than a tertiary referral center.

The sensitivity of detecting postoperative stroke might be reflective of the diligence in investigating an event. It is common to see minor transient neurologic deficits after major surgery. Whether or not these events are assessed is a function of their severity and duration. If a computed tomography (CT) brain scan is obtained and is normal, a neurologic consultation might not be obtained. This situation is especially likely if the patient has a relatively minor event that essentially resolves fully within a reasonable postoperative time frame. More experienced surgeons might recognize that minor cerebrovascular events often are transient, and they might not investigate further. In clinical stroke trials, most patients with minor acute stroke recover fully within 3 months. More recent stroke trial protocols exclude patients with minor deficits.