Cognitive trajectories and incident dementia after a cardiovascular event in older adults

IntroductionCardiovascular disease (CVD) is a recognized risk factor for dementia. Here we determined the extent to which an incident CVD event modifies the trajectory of cognitive function and risk of dementia. Methods19,114 adults (65+) without CVD or dementia were followed prospectively over 9 years. Incident CVD (fatal coronary heart disease, nonfatal myocardial infarction [MI], stroke, hospitalization for heart failure) and dementia (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria) were adjudicated by experts. ResultsNine hundred twenty-two participants had incident CVD, and 44 developed dementia after CVD (4.9% vs. 4.4% for participants without CVD). Following a CVD event there was a short-term drop in processing speed (-1.97, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -2.57 to -1.41), but there was no significant association with longer-term processing speed. In contrast, faster declines in trajectories of global function (-0.56, 95% CI: -0.76 to -0.36), episodic memory (-0.10, 95% CI: -0.16 to -0.04), and verbal fluency (-0.19, 95% CI: -0.30 to -0.01) were observed. DiscussionFindings highlight the importance of monitoring cognition after a CVD event.

Automated summary

This study determines the impact of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events on cognitive function trajectory and dementia risk. The results show that following a CVD event, there is a short-term decrease in processing speed, while declines in global function, episodic memory, and verbal fluency are observed in the longer term.