The heart health, dementia link: 7 things to know

AHA researchers analyzed PubMed data to study potential shared risk factors between heart failure, atrial fibrillation and coronary heart disease, and cognitive impairment. 

Here are seven things to know:

1. Approximately 50% of people with heart failure experience cognitive impairment.
2. Atrial fibrillation increases an individual’s risk of cognitive impairment by 39%.
3. Individuals with coronary heart disease are at a 27% increased risk of developing dementia.
4. Up to 50% of heart attack patients experience loss of brain function.
5. Shared risk factors between heart failure and cognitive impairment are:
   • Reduced blood flow 
   • Chronic inflammation
   • Neurohormonal activation, 
   • Obesity
   • Sleep-disordered breathing 
   • Gray matter volume reduction and/or white matter damage 
   • Genetic variations found in both individuals with heart failure and individuals with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s
6. Shared risk factors between atrial fibrillation and cognitive impairment are:
   • High blood pressure
   • Type 2 diabetes
   • Heart failure
   • Smoking
   • Vascular disease
   • Sleep-disordered breathing 
   • Advanced age
   • Stroke
   • Small brain bleeds or microhemorrhages
   • Reduced cardiac output 
   • Systemic inflammation and inflammatory biomarkers
7. Shared risk factors between coronary heart disease and cognitive impairment are:
   • High blood pressure
   • Type 2 diabetes
   • Small vessel disease in the brain and reduced brain blood flow
   • Genetic factors associated with heart disease may contribute to brain shrinkage