Thinking Slips Years Before a Stroke or Heart Failure
Graded Preliminary — compared 1,887 people who had an event with 7,548 matched peers from an 11-year study; this shows a link, not cause and effect.
- Design
- Case-control study
- Participants
- 9,435
- Duration
- 11 years
- Funding
- US National Institute on Aging (NIH)
People who later had a stroke or heart failure already scored lower on thinking tests years earlier, especially on speed of thinking.
A stroke is known to harm memory and thinking. This analysis suggests the decline often starts well before it. Older adults who later had a serious heart or circulation event scored lower on thinking tests 3 to 8 years beforehand. Their scores also dropped faster than those of similar people who stayed free of such events.
The data came from a long-running study of over 19,000 people in Australia and the US, most aged 70 or older. All started out without heart disease or dementia. Over 11 years, 1,934 had a stroke, a heart attack, a hospital stay for heart failure or died of heart disease. The researchers compared 1,887 of them with 7,548 people of the same age, sex and education. Speed of thinking differed first, about eight years ahead.
Recall of word lists showed no clear difference. Before a heart attack that people survived, thinking also tracked that of the comparison group. The study cannot say whether slipping thinking paves the way for heart trouble or whether both share common roots. Participants were also fairly healthy at the start.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: One team member received funding and fees from drug companies such as Eli Lilly, Eisai and Lundbeck outside this work.
Disclaimer: Research summaries are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your health routine.
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