Grant: Operating Grant

Two hundred million adults worldwide have major surgery every year. A million of these patients will have an obvious stroke after their surgery. Another 10 million patients may have 'silent' strokes. Although silent strokes are not diagnosed immediately, they are likely to reduce patients' short-term memory, concentration, and ability to function at home. However, we do not know how common silent strokes are after noncardiac surgery, nor the extent to which they affect brain function. The NeuroVISION will investigate the frequency of silent strokes, and their impact on brain function in patients having major surgery. Cognitive function and general health will be assessed before and shortly after surgery, and 30 days and 1 year after surgery. Participating patients will have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study of the brain after the surgery to look for silent strokes. Combining the results of the MRI and the questionnaires will allow us to determine the frequency of silent strokes after non-cardiac surgery and their effect on brain function. If the evidence from other studies applies to noncardiac surgery, over 10 million adults worldwide may suffer a silent stroke after surgery, and may have a higher risk of problems with their short-term memory, the ability to concentrate, and their ability to function at home. The NeuroVISION Study will examine the frequency and the impact of silent stroke in patients who undergo noncardiac surgery.