Scientists from the University of Gothenburg found that for people with atrial fibrillation, one of our most common cardiac disorders, dementia risk is elevated.
The research was conducted by Lina Rydén et al.
Atrial fibrillation (AF), a common heart condition in older people, is characterized by irregular and often rapid heartbeats.
These symptoms may be chronic or come and go, and many people have the condition without being aware of it.
AF is already known to be associated with an increased risk of stroke, and stroke in turn is known to exacerbate dementia risk.
In the study, the team analyzed data on 70-year-olds examined in 2000, who were then monitored up to age 82 to find out who developed dementia.
Magnetic resonance imaging of the latter group was performed to detect structural changes in the brain.
Besides elevated dementia and stroke risk, the team found that people with AF have silent brain infarcts and small infarcts deeper inside the white matter of the brain, more frequently than others.
These small infarcts, or lacunas as they are called, may be signs of cerebral small vessel disease.
The team says AF also causes small infarcts deeper inside the white matter of the brain may mean that AF causes not only stroke and silent infarcts due to blood clots that migrate from the heart and attach themselves to the vessels of the brain, but that other mechanisms resulting in oxygen deficiency can affect the brain in AF.
There may be several reasons why the risk of dementia is elevated in people with atrial fibrillation, even if they don’t get a stroke.
Dementia may be caused by, for example, altered blood flow to the brain; silent brain infarcts, which are lesions in the brain that are visible on brain imaging but don’t cause any typical stroke symptoms; or AF triggering an inflammatory process that raises dementia risk.
Current treatment of AF is aimed primarily at mitigating symptoms and preventing stroke. However, more knowledge is needed about which treatment is best, and when it should be applied, to reduce dementia risk.
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