Nearly half of all heart failure patients experience cognitive impairment, and those with coronary heart disease face a 27 percent higher risk of developing dementia, according to a recent scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) that emphasizes the link between cardiovascular and brain health.
The findings suggest that early intervention in heart health could be key to preventing cognitive decline later in life.
Cardiovascular Disease Linked to Cognitive Impairment
The statement, published in the AHA’s journal Stroke in October, examines links between cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and coronary heart disease and increased risk of cognitive impairment and dementia.
George Citroner
Author
George Citroner reports on health and medicine, covering topics that include cancer, infectious diseases, and neurodegenerative conditions. He was awarded the Media Orthopaedic Reporting Excellence (MORE) award in 2020 for a story on osteoporosis risk in men.
