We examined the safety of performing synchronous carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in specific groups of patients with coexistent cerebral and coronary vascular disease. Between 1981 and 2003, 8,277 patients who underwent CABG in our institution had noninvasive screening for carotid disease. Two hundred seventy-seven (3.34%) patients were found to have severe (>70%) carotid stenosis. This patient population was divided into three subgroups: group A had unilateral carotid disease (n = 200), group B had bilateral carotid disease (n = 55), and group C had contralateral carotid occlusion (n = 22). In 29 patients (10.4%), the carotid disease was symptomatic. A simultaneous CABG and CEA was performed in all three subgroups. Patients in group B underwent initially repair of the most dominant lesion, soon followed by contralateral CEA. Patients who underwent only CABG (n = 8,000) served as controls. Overall combined hospital mortality regardless of etiology for the combined group was 3.61% vs. 1.7% for the patients who had CABG only (P > 0.1). The stroke and/or myocardial infarction-associated mortality for the simultaneous CEA-CABG group was 2.52%. There were six deaths in group A (3%), two in group B (3.6%), and two in group C (9.09%). Early stroke complicated the course of four (2%) patients in group A, one (1.8%) patient in group B, and three (13.64%) patients in group C compared to a stroke rate of 1.28% in controls. Overall stroke rate in the combined group was 2.8%. History of previous stroke and age 70-80 were the most important predictors of postoperative stroke and death. In the combined surgery group, the postoperative myocardial infarction rate was 0.72% vs. 0.58% in the control group. The mean length of hospital stay was 9 days for patients who had the combined procedure vs. 8.1 days for patients who had CABG only. Use of the combined procedure for patients with concomitant carotid and coronary artery disease was justified in the patients under study.