Perioperative acute ischaemic stroke is a rare complication with potentially catastrophic outcomes. It has been shown that paying attention to perioperative neurological deficits and acute ischaemic stroke prevention proves to be beneficial in avoiding these catastrophic outcomes and may lead to determining early therapeutic interventions. This article reviews the perioperative management (covering diagnosis and treatment), prevention (covering surgery postponement, management with anticoagulant/antiplatelet and the growing interest in statins and beta-blockers) and intraoperative recommendations (covering anaesthetic techniques, ventilation strategies, transfusion and blood pressure management) specifically for the general surgical population. A summary of current treatments is enlightened by recently described evidence for the effectiveness of mechanical thrombectomy.