Abstract Background Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) marked with cardiac morphological or hemodynamical abnormalities are associated with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The links between cardiac structure and function and MCI are not well understood. We aimed to explore the association between echocardiographic parameters of cardiac structure and function and MCI in CVD patients. Methods We conducted an age-, gender-, and education level-matched case–control study in general CVD participants with a 1:3 ratio of MCI (Montreal Cognitive Assessment [MoCA] score