Experts say cognitive symptoms should be treated in tandem with heart health symptoms
A new study conducted by researchers from Michigan Medicine found a link between heart health and cognitive health.
According to their findings, heart failure could accelerate the onset of cognitive decline.
Heart failure is a disease that never goes away, and treating it relies heavily on a patients ability to follow specific instructions, monitor their symptoms, and keep up with many different medications, researcher Supriya Shore, MBBS, MSCS, said in a news release.
Seeing this cognitive decline among patients, and how it worsens over time after a diagnosis of heart failure, should be a warning for providers to assess a patients cognitive ability early and factor it into the care plan.
The study
The researchers analyzed data from nearly 30,000 adults enrolled in six U.S.-based population studies between 1971 and 2019.
When the study began, none of the participants had heart failure or cognitive decline. The researchers then tracked the participants' health outcomes to get an idea of how heart health can impact cognitive health.
Understanding the risks
The study found that a heart failure diagnosis was associated with a significant decrease in cognitive health, including both global cognition and executive functioning. Global cognition includes everything from attention, memory, reasoning, and language, while executive functioning includes higher-level tasks like working memory, self-regulation, time management, planning, and more.
Within seven years of a heart failure diagnosis, participants mentally aged the equivalent of 10 years. Additionally, the researchers explained that people with heart failure are likely to experience meaningful cognitive decline six years earlier than those with optimal heart health.
The researchers found that global cognition declined most significantly in participants who were white, women, and older.
Its also important to note that the researchers accounted for the risk factors that are associated with poor cognitive health high blood pressure and heart attack. These factors werent associated with the participants cognitive decline.
Regular cognitive monitoring of older adults with heart failure would help identify individuals with the earliest signs of cognitive decline who require supportive care, senior authorDeborah A. Levine, M.D., M.P.H., said in the news release.
We need a better understanding of the mechanisms driving accelerated cognitive decline after heart failure to develop interventions that halt or slow the decline.
Posted: 2025-04-04 18:58:38
