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 Summer;11(1):49-53.
doi: 10.15420/ecr.2016:13:2.

Atrial Fibrillation, Cognitive Decline And Dementia

Alvaro Alonso  1 , Antonio P Arenas de Larriva  2
Affiliations

Atrial Fibrillation, Cognitive Decline And Dementia

Alvaro Alonso et al. Eur Cardiol. 2016 Summer.

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common cardiac arrhythmia. Growing evidence supports a role for AF as a risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia. In this review, we summarize epidemiologic observations linking AF with cognitive outcomes, describe potential mechanisms, and explore the impact of AF treatments on cognitive decline and dementia. Community-based, observational studies show a consistent higher rate of cognitive decline and risk of dementia in persons with AF. These associations are partly due to the increased risk of clinical stroke in AF, but other mechanisms, including incidence of silent cerebral infarcts, microbleeds, and cerebral hypoperfusion, are likely additional contributors. Adequate oral anticoagulation and improved management of the overall cardiovascular risk profile in persons with AF offer the promise of reducing the impact of AF on cognitive decline and dementia.

Keywords: Atrial fibrillation; cognitive decline; cognitive impairment; dementia; epidemiology.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:. Potential Mechanisms Linking Atrial Fibrillation (AF) with Cognitive Decline and Dementia
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Chugh SS, Havmoeller R, Narayana K et al. Worldwide epidemiology of atrial fibrillation: a Global Burden of Disease 2010 Study. Circulation. 2014;129:837–47. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.113.005119. DOI: PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Go AS, Hylek EM, Phillips KA et al. Prevalence of diagnosed atrial fibrillation in adults: national implications for rhythm management and stroke prevention: the Anticoagulation and Risk Factors in Atrial Fibrillation (ATRIA) study. JAMA. 2001;285:2370–5. PMID: - PubMed
    1. Miyasaka Y, Barnes ME, Gersh BJ et al. Secular trends in incidence of atrial fibrillation in Olmsted County, Minnesota, 1980 to 2000, and implications on the projections for future prevalence. Circulation. 2006;114:119–25. PMID: - PubMed
    1. Magnani JW, Rienstra M, Lin H et al. Atrial fibrillation: current knowledge and future directions in epidemiology and genomics. Circulation. 2011;124:1982–93. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.111.039677. DOI: PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Plassman BL, Langa KM, Fisher GG et al. Prevalence of cognitive impairment without dementia in the United States. Ann Intern Med. 2008;148:427–34. PMID: - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources