Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Jul;55(7):1044-8.
doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2007.01226.x.

Lower cardiac output is associated with greater white matter hyperintensities in older adults with cardiovascular disease

Angela L Jefferson  1 , David F Tate, Athena Poppas, Adam M Brickman, Robert H Paul, John Gunstad, Ronald A Cohen
Affiliations

Lower cardiac output is associated with greater white matter hyperintensities in older adults with cardiovascular disease

Angela L Jefferson et al. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2007 Jul.

Abstract

Objectives: To preliminarily examine the association between cardiac output, a measure of systemic blood flow, and structural brain magnetic resonance imaging indices of white matter hyperintensities (WMHs).

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: University medical setting.

Participants: Thirty-six older adults without dementia with prevalent cardiovascular disease (aged 56-85).

Measurements: Cardiac output, WMHs.

Results: Partial correlations, adjusting for age and history of hypertension, yielded an inverse relationship between WMHs adjacent to subcortical nuclei and cardiac output (correlation coefficient=-0.48, P=.03); as cardiac output decreased, WMHs increased significantly. No significant associations were found between cardiac output and total WMHs or periventricular WMHs.

Conclusion: These preliminary data suggest that systemic blood flow, measured according to cardiac output, is inversely associated with WMHs adjacent to the subcortical nuclei. Cerebrovascular degeneration and the chronicity of hypoperfusion may exacerbate the susceptibility of white matter integrity to alterations in blood flow in older adults.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
White matter hyperintensity (WMH) regions of interest. (A) Periventricular WMHs (WMHs confluent with the lateral ventricles); (B) = subcortical WMHs (WMHs adjacent to subcortical gray matter, including the basal ganglia and thalamus).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Scatterplot relating cardiac output and subcortical white matter hyperintensities (WMHs). WMH values are based on log-transformation, so WMH burden increases as log-transformed values approach 0.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gunning-Dixon FM, Raz N. The cognitive correlates of white matter abnormalities in normal aging: A quantitative review. Neuropsychology. 2000;14:224–232. - PubMed
    1. Kertesz A, Black SE, Tokar G, et al. Periventricular and subcortical hyperintensities on magnetic resonance imaging. ‘Rims, caps, and unidentified bright objects’. Arch Neurol. 1988;45:404–408. - PubMed
    1. de Leeuw FE, de Groot JC, Oudkerk M, et al. Atrial fibrillation and the risk of cerebral white matter lesions. Neurology. 2000;54:1795–1801. - PubMed
    1. de Leeuw FE, De Groot JC, Oudkerk M, et al. Aortic atherosclerosis at middle age predicts cerebral white matter lesions in the elderly. Stroke. 2000;31:425–429. - PubMed
    1. Lindgren A, Roijer A, Rudling O, et al. Cerebral lesions on magnetic resonance imaging, heart disease, and vascular risk factors in subjects without stroke. A population-based study. Stroke. 1994;25:929–934. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms