The goals of sedation and analgesia for patients following cardiac surgery are multifold and include postoperative pain relief, the facilitation of ventilation, resolution of hypothermia and normalization of electrolyte balances. The choice of sedative agent however can impact postoperative outcomes. Dexmedetomidine has been associated with improved quality of recovery in patients undergoing major spine surgery and with a reduced incidence of delirium, both of which can impact a patient's quality of life following surgery. We hypothesized that the use of dexmedetomidine as a sedative agent immediately following cardiac surgery in elderly patients would result in improved quality of recovery and a reduced incidence of delirium in the postoperative period, when compared to propofol. We were also interested as to whether there was an associated improvement in neurocognitive outcomes in this population.