Keeping your brain sharp as you age has a lot to do with your heart — and the sooner you start taking care of it, the better. This is what a new scientific statement published this Thursday (10) by the American Heart Association (AMA) points out.
“Dementia is commonly viewed as an incurable and relentless disease that cannot be prevented,” said Dr. Fernando Testai, professor of neurology and rehabilitation at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago, in a statement.
“However, evidence shows that adopting a healthy lifestyle and identifying and treating vascular risk factors early can help preserve normal brain function and reduce the burden of Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias,” said Testai, who chaired the group that drafted the declaration.
About 130 million adults in the United States have some type of heart disease, according to the AHA. Adopting a heart-healthy lifestyle should start early in life, even before a baby is born, said Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver.
“This call to action is especially critical now because so many Americans have some form of heart disease and people are getting sicker earlier in life,” said Freeman, who was not involved in writing the AHA statement.
“The typical American curse is that we all work hard our entire lives,” Freeman said. “We save our money, prepare for retirement, and then wait for heart attacks, strokes, dementia — illnesses that are potentially preventable if we act early enough and change our lifestyles.”
Dementia and plaque in the arteries
Coronary artery disease (CAD), which is the accumulation of plaque in the body’s arteries, is the leading cause of death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Deaths from coronary artery disease have increased from 6.4 million in 2000 to 9.1 million in 2021, according to the WHO.
The disease also affects the brain. The narrowing of arteries that occurs with coronary heart disease and high blood pressure can reduce blood flow and cause damage to small blood vessels in the brain, resulting in cognitive impairment, the AHA said. High blood pressure and type 2 diabetes can also reduce blood flow to the brain and increase inflammation, leading to cognitive decline and dementia.
Having CAD increases the risk of future dementia by 27% compared with people without the heart disease, the AHA statement said. The disease can begin in one’s 40s or 50s, often without visible symptoms to alert the person to the danger.
Heart attacks and heart failure
Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States will have a heart attack, the AHA estimates. After this happens, up to 50% of survivors experience loss of brain function, with some experiencing a steeper decline in cognitive impairment, the AHA statement said.
Heart failure is a more serious form of heart disease in which the heart is too weak to pump enough blood and oxygen to the body’s organs. According to the new scientific statement, up to 81% of people with heart failure may experience some type of cognitive decline that affects memory, language or the ability to think and plan.
“Emerging evidence suggests that the bidirectional relationship between the heart and brain is deeper than we thought,” Testai said in an email. “Vascular risk factors associated with heart disease, such as diabetes, can increase levels of beta-amyloid in the brain, which is recognized as a key marker of Alzheimer’s disease.”
“In contrast, beta-amyloid has been found in the heart and is associated with cardiac dysfunction,” he said. “These findings suggest a fundamental biochemical connection between the heart and the brain.”
Atrial fibrillation and dementia
Atrial fibrillation is a cardiac arrhythmia often described by people who have it as a “shaking”, “fluttering” or “turning” in the heart inside the chest.
Atrial fibrillation is the leading cause of stroke in the US. Additionally, strokes connected to this disease tend to be “more severe than strokes with other underlying causes,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Small bleeds in the brain, called microbleeds, which can lead to cognitive decline, are more common in people with atrial fibrillation, according to the new scientific statement. In fact, people with this condition have a 39% increased risk of memory or thinking problems.
The rate of atrial fibrillation in the US is growing. Estimates suggest that up to 16 million people will have the disease by 2050.
Focus on lifestyle changes
Modern medicine has incredible medications — like statins and cholesterol-lowering drugs — that can prevent or delay heart disease, especially if caught early, Freeman said. Regular checkups and taking prescribed medications daily are key to making this happen, he added.
However, there is a limit to what medications can achieve. For example, treating hypertension aggressively has shown promise in reducing mild cognitive impairment, but not dementia, the AHA statement said.
“Humans were designed to live very differently than we do today, and it is imperative that people understand how incredibly important lifestyle is,” Freeman said.
What are the key lifestyle factors that improve brain health? Nothing you haven’t heard before.
Prioritize sleep
Being well-rested improves mood, increases energy and sharpens the brain. People who have the most sleep disruptions during their 30s and 40s are more than twice as likely to have memory and thinking problems a decade later, a study found in January.
The “sweet spot” for restorative sleep is when you can sleep continuously through the four stages of sleep four to six times each night. Since each cycle lasts approximately 90 minutes, most people need seven to eight hours of relatively uninterrupted sleep to achieve this goal.
Focus on nutrients
Make sure you eat a healthier plant-based diet, like the award-winning Mediterranean diet.
An August study found that eating an anti-inflammatory diet of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, rather than an inflammatory diet focused on red and processed meats and ultra-processed foods such as sugary cereals, soda, chips and ice cream, reduced the risk of dementia by 31%.
This benefit remained even for people with existing diagnoses of cardiometabolic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
Reduce stress
High levels of cortisol — the so-called stress hormone — have been linked to damage to the parts of the brain that move and manage information, according to an October 2018 study. Another study published in March 2023 found that people with high levels of stress had 37 % more likely to have poor cognition.
Stress isn’t inherently bad, and adopting ways to view stressors as healthy challenges can help, experts say. Other ways include getting plenty of sleep, eating healthy foods and limiting time watching the news or engaging in social media, according to the World Health Organization.
It also helps to stay connected with others and employ calming practices such as meditation and deep breathing. One of the most effective tools, however, is physical activity.
That’s right — exercise is key
If there’s only one lifestyle change you can make, focus on exercise, Freeman said. Adults should get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week, along with strength training, according to the CDC. You know you’re getting moderate exercise when you’re breathing heavily and can’t sing a song, but you can still talk. Vigorous activities, such as running, swimming or playing basketball, will make it difficult to even speak.
Increased activity benefits the entire body, including the brain, studies have shown. Research from September 2022 found that people who walked at a very fast pace of 112 steps per minute for 30 minutes a day reduced their risk of dementia by 62%.
Don’t have a step counter? You can count the number of steps you take in 10 seconds and then multiply by six — or the number of steps you take in six seconds and multiply by 10. Both ways work.
“Physical activity is just magnificent,” Freeman told CNN . “And when you mix that with eating a more plant-based diet, reducing stress, getting enough sleep, and connecting with others — that’s your magic recipe. It’s the fountain of youth, so to speak.”
See also: Support is essential for dementia patients, says Forlenza on CNN Vital Signs
Cases of heart disease increase among young people; understand
This content was originally published in Common heart diseases can increase the risk of dementia on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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