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
. 2016 Apr;12(4):391-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.jalz.2015.08.164. Epub 2015 Oct 23.

Atrial fibrillation, cognitive impairment, and neuroimaging

Jonathan Graff-Radford  1 , Malini Madhavan  2 , Prashanthi Vemuri  3 , Alejandro A Rabinstein  1 , Ruth H Cha  4 , Michelle M Mielke  5 , Kejal Kantarci  3 , Val Lowe  3 , Matthew L Senjem  3 , Jeffrey L Gunter  3 , David S Knopman  1 , Ronald C Petersen  1 , Clifford R Jack Jr  4 , Rosebud O Roberts  6
Affiliations

Atrial fibrillation, cognitive impairment, and neuroimaging

Jonathan Graff-Radford et al. Alzheimers Dement. 2016 Apr.

Abstract

Introduction: The objective of our study was to investigate cross-sectional associations of atrial fibrillation with neuroimaging measures of cerebrovascular disease and Alzheimer's disease and their interactions with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Methods: Magnetic resonance imaging scans of individuals from a population-based study were analyzed for infarctions, total gray matter, and hippocampal and white matter hyperintensity volumes. A subsample underwent positron emission tomography imaging.

Results: Atrial fibrillation was associated with infarctions and lower total gray matter volume. Compared with subjects with no atrial fibrillation and no infarction, the odds ratio (95% confidence intervals) for MCI was 2.99 (1.57-5.70; P = .001) among participants with atrial fibrillation and infarction, 0.90 (0.45-1.80; P = .77) for atrial fibrillation and no infarction, and 1.50 (0.96-2.34; P = .08) for no atrial fibrillation and any infarction.

Discussion: Participants with both atrial fibrillation and infarction are more likely to have MCI than participants with either infarction or atrial fibrillation alone.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Atrial fibrillation; Cerebrovascular disease; Mild cognitive impairment; Stroke.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of study participants MRI-magnetic resonance imaging, PiB-Pittsburgh compound B, FDG-fluorodeoxyglucose, AFIB-atrial fibrillation
Figure 2
Figure 2
Interaction between Atrial fibrillation, infarction and MCI
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lloyd-Jones DM, Wang TJ, Leip EP, Larson MG, Levy D, Vasan RS, et al. Lifetime risk for development of atrial fibrillation: the Framingham Heart Study. Circulation. 2004;110:1042–6. - PubMed
    1. Plassman BL, Langa KM, Fisher GG, Heeringa SG, Weir DR, Ofstedal MB, et al. Prevalence of dementia in the United States: the aging, demographics, and memory study. Neuroepidemiology. 2007;29:125–32. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Petersen RC, Roberts RO, Knopman DS, Geda YE, Cha RH, Pankratz VS, et al. Prevalence of mild cognitive impairment is higher in men. The Mayo Clinic Study of Aging. Neurology. 2010;75:889–97. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bunch TJ, Weiss JP, Crandall BG, May HT, Bair TL, Osborn JS, et al. Atrial fibrillation is independently associated with senile, vascular, and Alzheimer’s dementia. Heart Rhythm. 2010;7:433–7. - PubMed
    1. Ott A, Breteler MM, de Bruyne MC, van Harskamp F, Grobbee DE, Hofman A. Atrial fibrillation and dementia in a population-based study. The Rotterdam Study. Stroke. 1997;28:316–21. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances