Heart Rhythm Disturbances Dramatically Increase The Risk Of Dementia

Heart rhythm disturbances dramatically increase the risk of dementia

A common type of abnormal heart rhythm can increase the risk of developing dementia or dementia. But treating the arrhythmia and its consequences reduces this likelihood, according to the journal Neurology.

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A common type of abnormal heart rhythm can increase the risk of developing dementia or dementia. But treating the arrhythmia and its consequences reduces this likelihood, according to the journal Neurology.

It is about atrial fibrillation or atrial fibrillation. With this violation of the heart rhythm, the fibers of the atrial myocardium contract irregularly. Atrial contractions become less effective, the heart beats faster, and the rhythm is disrupted.

Research has shown that atrial fibrillation increases the overall risk of dementia by 40% and the risk of vascular dementia by about 90%. But in people who have arrhythmias but are treated with anticoagulants, the risk of dementia is reduced by 60%.

"We found that those with ventricular fibrillation may experience more rapid impairment of cognitive abilities such as memory and thinking and have a higher risk of dementia," said study author Mozhu Ding, a doctoral student at the Karolinska Institute's Aging Research Center in Stockholm.

Many patients with atrial fibrillation receive anticoagulants, drugs that reduce blood clotting and prevent blood clots in the blood vessels and the heart. This treatment significantly reduces the risk of developing dementia.

To obtain these results, the researchers studied data from 2685 participants in the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care over six years. 9% of them had atrial fibrillation at the start of the study. Dementia developed in 22% of patients with this type of arrhythmia who did not take anticoagulants. In the case of taking anticoagulants, this figure dropped to 11%.

“People with atrial fibrillation can suffer strokes and micro-strokes, which significantly increase the risk of dementia. It is also likely that fibrillation slows down cerebral circulation, causing cerebral ischemia, which in turn leads to cognitive impairment,”Ding said of the link between arrhythmia and dementia.

This is not the first study on this topic, in 2017 it was shown that delaying anticoagulant therapy for arrhythmias increased the risk of dementia.