Accelerated cognitive decline after heart attack: study | WKRG

To: Lauren Sforza, The Hill

Posted on: May 30, 2023 / 9pm CDT

Has been updated: May 30, 2023 / 9:12 PM CDT

(The Hill) – A new study finds that people who have suffered a heart attack experience faster declines in overall cognition, memory and executive function than those who have not.

In a study published in JAMA Neurology JournalResearchers found that people who had suffered at least one myocardial infarction (MI), also known as a heart attack, experienced a slower rate of decline in overall cognition, memory, and executive function over years than other people. found to be significantly faster. those who did not. The study also found that the occurrence of a heart attack is independent of the immediate decline in these functions after a heart attack, but rather affects long-term brain health.

The researchers analyzed more than 30,000 populations from six different US-based studies. Of this sample, 1,033 had a myocardial infarction. Median follow-up was 6.4 years after heart attack.

The study showed that over time, all people showed year-on-year cognitive decline, while those who had a heart attack showed a “faster” decline.

“However, after myocardial infarction, the annual rate of decline accelerated and was steeper than in the same individual before myocardial infarction and steeper than in individuals who had never had a myocardial infarction,” the study said. opinion To read. “Interestingly, the slope of the long-term decline changed after MI, even though there was no immediate gradual decline.”

Researchers also found that the rate of overall cognitive decline can depend on someone’s race and gender. The study showed that blacks had lower rates of change in overall cognition compared to whites, and women changed less than men.

according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, About 805,000 people in the United States have a heart attack each year.