Anesthetics that protect the brain may also depress the heart. We recently anesthetized a patient with a giant cerebral aneurysm of the basilar artery who had it clipped during circulatory arrest. Thiopental loading was carried out prior to and during cardiopulmonary bypass, and we monitored transesophageal echocardiographic function and the hemodynamic profile throughout. The patient demonstrated little change in cardiovascular parameters or myocardial performance, and we conclude that the massive dose of thiopental was well tolerated.