Dementia has been known to overwhelm the elderly population due to deteriorating effects to the cognitive function of the brain, including recollection, judgement, and thinking.
The most common form of dementia is the notorious brain disorder called Alzheimer's disease, known for its gradual memory loss and impact to other cognitive abilities.
Previously thought to be an isolated factor, heart disease has been found to potentially trigger dementia, according to a new study.
In particular, the novel research blamed fat build up or plaque buildup in the blood vessels to be the culprit behind the health risk.
Heart disease affects millions of people worldwide, leading to either hospitalization or death.
With the heart illness posing a risk for both brain-related medical conditions, new insights may shed light for changing an approach towards their treatment.
Heart-Brain Connection
In the research published in the journal eLife on January 11, scientists from the University of Sheffield in England, United Kingdom, found that there is a connection between the heart and the brain in terms of the indirect, yet causal, development of dementia.
The study discovered that heart disease triples the amount of an Alzheimer's protein in the brain.
The researchers stated that such process transpires amongst patients with heart disease, especially before the fat buildup inside the blood vessels of the brain.
The scientists reportedly described the event as a prelude to dementia, which is a term used to describe a group of symptoms affecting the functions of the brain.
Severe cases of dementia can lead to the disruption of daily life.
Neurovascular Coupling
In spite of the findings, it remains unclear how some types of vascular dementia can happen years before the brain's arteries hardens and thickens.
Nevertheless, the UK researchers attributed the failure of brain process called neurovascular coupling to be the link for the development and progress of various neurological conditions, including dementia.
The study defined neurovascular coupling as a critical brain mechanism that any alterations or changes in cerebral blood flow still connects passing neural activity.
Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) emphasized that dementia is not a disease but a connotation to describe the impaired ability of a person to engage in decision-making, remembering, and other brain functions as mentioned earlier in this article.
Aside from Alzheimer's disease, the following are the most common types of dementia:
- Vascular dementia
- Lewy body dementia
- Fronto-temporal dementia
- Mixed dementia
The CDC pointed out that Alzheimer's disease is not a part of normal aging, even if it affects mostly older adults.
Within a population of at least 65 years old, 5 million have suffered from dementia in 2014 and the organization projected this could reach almost 14 million by the year 2060.
Heart Disease
Due to the new findings linking heart disease with brain arteries, the number of cases as projected by the CDC could increase even more, due to the fact that individuals with the heart ailment are at increased risk of developing dementia.
The World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledges cardiovascular diseases or CVDs as an umbrella term to depict the group of disorders affecting the heart and blood vessels.
Heart disease is included within this group.
The WHO says CVDs are one of the main causes of death worldwide with approximately 17.9 fatalities annually.
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