Atrial fibrillation is a risk factor for cognitive decline and dementiaaccording to results of a study published in the medical journal European Heart Journal.
The atrial fibrillation such as dementia particularly affects the elderly. The Inserm researchers wanted to understand if it was a simple coexistence or if there was a link between these two observations or a cause and effect link. They conducted a study with the British Whitehall II cohort, made up of more than 10,000 people and followed for 30 years. The participants underwent clinical examinations (electrocardiogram, blood pressure, blood test, motor and cognitive tests, etc.) scheduled every 4 years. This cohort examines the determinants of aging.
“Atrial fibrillation is a frequent pathology at advanced ages, affecting between 10 and 20% of people over 80,” explains Archana Singh-Manoux, from the Aging team, Center for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, from Paul Brousse Hospital in France.
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In recent years, various studies have revealed that elderly people with atrial fibrillation have a high risk of dementia and that older people with dementia have atrial fibrillation more often than healthy individuals.
“The originality of our study is that we were able to follow people who were 45 years old and healthy at the start, without any cognitive impairment. It is by following these people over the long term, and not by focusing on a group of elderly people, that we have been able to observe that the arrhythmia impacts the cognitive agingbut also increases the risk of dementia “. Thus the analysis of the cohort data shows that at any age, people with atrial fibrillation have a risk of dementia multiplied by two”, concludes the researcher.
An increased risk of dementia
The results of this new study have shown that atrial fibrillation is a major risk factor forischemic stroke. It multiplies this risk by five, compared to the general population. Atrial fibrillation is responsible for 20% of ischemic strokes. The researchers observed that associated with cardiovascular disorders significant, atrial fibrillation could lead to neural dysfunction, cognitive decline, and even dementia. “Knowing that atrial fibrillation is a risk factor for dementia shows the importance of its treatment for the prevention of cognitive decline and dementia”, concludes Archana Singh-Manoux. “A track that is all the more interesting since there are currently no effective treatments for dementia, in particular for Alzheimer’s disease“.
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