Underlines Importance of Cardiovascular Care for Preventing Dementia
A groundbreaking study by the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) in Madrid adds weight to the long-suspected link between cardiovascular disease and brain health, particularly in the context of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, the research highlights the vital importance of controlling traditional cardiovascular risk factors for preventing not just heart-related ailments but also degenerative brain diseases.
Key Findings
The study shows a strong correlation between atherosclerosis, the accumulation of fatty deposits in the arteries, and the typical cerebral alterations associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
This underscores the role of cardiovascular health in brain function, and conversely, the risks that cardiovascular issues can pose to cognitive wellbeing.
In the study, Dr. Valentín Fuster, the General Director of CNIC, emphasized that controlling cardiovascular risk factors early could pave the way for preventing diseases like dementia for which there is no known cure.
Longitudinal Insights: The PESA-CNIC-Santander Study
This recent research builds on the PESA-CNIC-Santander study, which has been monitoring over 4,000 middle-aged, asymptomatic participants since 2010.
Those who maintained high cardiovascular risk over a five-year period showed a significant reduction in cerebral glucose metabolism, a key indicator of brain health, as detected via positron emission tomography (PET) scans.
A Call for Early Action
According to the CNIC team, a decline in glucose metabolism, which is crucial for neuron functioning, can render the brain more susceptible to future neurodegenerative or cerebrovascular diseases.
They also found that individuals showing metabolic decline in the brain exhibited signs of neuronal injury, marking a worrying but vital observation given the irreversibility of neuronal death.
Dr. Cortés Canteli, a neuroscientist at the CNIC, stressed that the earlier we begin controlling cardiovascular risk factors like hypertension, cholesterol levels, diabetes, smoking, and sedentary lifestyle, the better the outcomes for brain health.
This has far-reaching implications for clinical practice, highlighting the need for primary cardiovascular preventive strategies early in life for maintaining cerebral health in the long term.
Future Directions
The researchers propose that screening for carotid atherosclerosis could be instrumental in identifying individuals at risk for future cognitive decline.
While the precise impact of reduced cerebral metabolism on cognitive function remains unknown, these findings lay a crucial foundation for the integrative approach to healthcare, emphasizing the interconnectedness of cardiovascular and cognitive health.
These revelations also beg for more comprehensive public health messaging that goes beyond cardiac care to encompass broader aspects of health, from middle age to the later years of life.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease, and scientists find how COVID-19 damages the heart.
For more information about heart health, please read studies that vitamin D can help reduce inflammation, and vitamin K could lower your heart disease risk by a third.
The research findings can be found in The Lancet Healthy Longevity.
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