Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/j0AMNiPTals   One in every 14 persons over the age of 65 who undergoes even seemingly risk-free elective surgery may suffer a silent or covert stroke that can permanently impair their cognitive powers or worse.  This warning comes from a Canadian study just published in The Lancet.   Covert strokes are those without obvious symptoms including paralysis, weakness, speech degradation, or visual problems.   Population health scientists at McMaster University studied more than 1100 patients treated in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and New Zealand.  All patients underwent brain MRI scanning within 9 days of their surgery and were followed for a year to determine their cognitive abilities.  Of the 7% of patients that sustained silent strokes, 42% demonstrated a cognitive decline.  Even worse, 29% of those who didn’t suffer a stroke also developed impaired brain function.   Adding it all up, nearly 30% of the elders undergoing elective surgery developed post-operative mental decline.  If you