According to a recent study, cognitive decline could be reduced by adopting a healthy lifestyle and thus strengthening the heart.
A healthy lifestyle for a healthy heart
Researchers at the University of Oxford conducted a study of 542 older people and found that it was essential for older people to have a good diet combined with exercise. This healthy lifestyle helps maintain good cardiovascular health, thus preventing and delaying cognitive decline. At 64 and 68, participants received 2 measurements of aortic or arterial stiffness, which calculate cardiovascular risk. They also performed cognitive tests and magnetic resonance imaging scans of the brain. It can be observed that the aorta, which is the large artery in the body, stiffens with age. As a result, it is the poor health of the brain that causes this premature aging of the aorta. This is because poor memory, less functioning blood circulation and less connectivity between different regions of the brain cause arterial stiffening to accelerate halfway through life.
A healthy heart for a healthy brain
The French Federation of Cardiology has indicated that “ all these very simple keys to positive prevention must become automatic mechanisms to keep real health capital as long as possible “. Otherwise, it can lead to myocardial infarction, arrhythmias, strokes or vascular dementia.
Dr Sana Suri explains that the study “ links heart health to brain health. It gives us insight into the potential for reducing aortic stiffness to help maintain brain health in older people. Reduced connectivity between different regions of the brain is an early marker of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. Preventing these changes by reducing or slowing the stiffening of the large blood vessels in our body may be a way to maintain brain health and memory as we age. “. According to the World Health Organization, cases of dementia are expected to reach 115.4 million people by 2050.
