Meta-analyses published in journals neurologyconcluded that SBI is detectable in approximately 1 in 3 patients with heart disease.

Two-thirds of the study subjects had white matter lesions (damage to the protective membrane around nerve fibers), one-quarter had evidence of asymptomatic microbleeds in the brain, and more than half had neuronal There was brain atrophy, defined as atrophy due to loss of . or connections between neurons.

“Generally speaking, what’s bad for your heart is bad for your brain, so a variety of heart conditions are [like SBI and CSVD] contributing to cerebrovascular injury…it makes perfect sense,” said Gregory Bix, director of Tulane University’s Clinical Neuroscience Research Center and associate professor of neurosurgery and neurology at Tulane School of Medicine in New Orleans. the doctor said.

“SBI and CSVD are to some extent overlooked cardiovascular health conditions because they are chronic diseases with insidious onset of cognitive symptoms that are often missed in the early stages,” said Vicks, who was not involved in the study. he said. Today’s medical news. “However, CSVD is the leading cause of vascular dementia and the second most common cause of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease.”

The prevalence of these changes in the brain’s vasculature, which usually do not cause overt neurological symptoms, was elevated regardless of whether the people studied had previously suffered a stroke, the researchers reported. .

“People with heart disease are two to three times more likely than the general population to have changes in the brain’s vasculature, but unless they have had a stroke, these patients are “These patients are often missed because they don’t undergo brain imaging tests,” said Zien Zhou, lead author of the study and a cardiovascular and neurology researcher at the George Institute for Global Health in Sydney, Australia. In a press statement, Dr. “However, they may be more susceptible to the risk of brain hemorrhage from drugs commonly used to treat or prevent blood clots. Intracranial hemorrhage is a life-threatening complication with no proven treatment. The survival rate is less than 50 percent.”

Zhou said aging, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and smoking are likely causes of “hidden” changes in brain blood vessels.

“The gradual decline in cardiac output in some heart patients may affect the amount of blood reaching brain tissue, contributing to vascular changes and cognitive impairment in these patients.” “There is,” he said. “Hidden brain changes and cognitive dysfunction may also be the result of small blood clots forming in the heart and then traveling to the brain through the arterial circulation.”

Zhou said more research is needed to determine whether regular brain imaging for patients on anticoagulant therapy, which includes most heart patients, can reduce the risk of things like brain hemorrhage. Stated.

“These findings suggest that all people with atrial defibrillation, coronary artery disease, heart failure or cardiomyopathy, and valvular heart disease should undergo a brain scan,” Bix said. Ta.

“This study shows a clear correlation between heart disease and SBI and CSVD,” he added. “But whether one causes the other remains to be determined.”