Association between Perioperative Cerebral Microbleed and Cognitive Decline and Dementia Lead Investigator: Bahar Niknejad Institution : Eastern Virginia Medical School E-Mail : niknejb@evms.edu Proposal ID : 1241 Proposal Description: There is increasing evidence suggesting perioperative cerebral microbleed is a contributing factor to cognitive impairment. However, this relationship has not been the subject of longitudinal studies. The aim of this study is to investigate whether cardiac surgery related cerebral microbleed is associated with cognitive function decline and dementia at short-term and long-term post-operative intervals. Findings from this longitudinal study will help elucidate the association between perioperative microbleed with cognitive decline and subsequent implication for future research on identifying modifiable risk factors of microbleed caused by cardiac surgery, informing preventive strategies to reduce development of post-operative cognitive decline and related morbidity and mortality. Two specific objectives of this study are as follows: -To determine if perioperative cerebral microbleed is associated with early or long-term cognitive decline. -To determine whether the presence, number and location of perioperative microbleed mark a decline in cognitive function.