Cardioversion of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is a procedure that is commonly utilized in clinical praxis. The evolving guidelines on AF since 2010 have progressively emphasized a rhythm-control approach as preferred initial treatment strategy in many patients with new-onset AF, a development triggered by the successful implementation of ablation procedures shown to be applicable in a variety of AF patients. Very often, the initial step in rhythm control is the conversion of new-onset or recurrent AF to normal sinus rhythm. The current appraisal is focusing on the most prevalent complications of direct-current and pharmacological cardioversion: embolic strokes. We here examine the literature on documented periprocedural stroke rates in cardioversion. We then propose increased scrutiny on several cardioversion related risk factors in order to minimize the occurrence of such iatrogenic strokes, ultimately aiming at increasing the safety of patients.