Whilst the incidence and the perioperative management of neurological complications after cardiac surgery may vary, they share some common risk factors for their occurrence: advanced age, cardiovascular morbidity including peripheral vascular disease, diabetes, previous stroke, preoperative cognitive impairment and dementia.As most of these factors are not modifiable at the time of surgery, conditions that can be controlled in the perioperative period should deserve more focus to prevent the occurrence of neurological problems.