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
. 2024 May-Jun;39(3):E80-E85.
doi: 10.1097/JCN.0000000000001075.

Association of Heart Failure With Cognitive Decline and Development of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia

Miyeon Jung, Liana G Apostolova, Sujuan Gao, Heather N Burney, Dongbing Lai, Andrew J Saykin, Susan J Pressler

Association of Heart Failure With Cognitive Decline and Development of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia

Miyeon Jung et al. J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2024 May-Jun.

Abstract

Background: Incidence of cognitive impairment and its consequences have not been fully examined in heart failure (HF).

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine associations of HF with cognitive decline, frequencies and risks of, and time-to-develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia during 15-year follow-up.

Methods: For this retrospective cohort study, data were retrieved from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center. Cognitive decline was assessed using the Uniform Data Set neuropsychological battery. Development of MCI and dementia was assessed using clinically diagnosed cognitive status.

Results: Compared with participants without HF (n = 12 904), participants with HF (n = 256) had more decline in attention, executive function, and memory while controlling for covariates including apolipoprotein E4. Participants with HF developed MCI or dementia more frequently (44.9% vs 34.4%), developed dementia faster from normal cognition, and had a lower risk of dementia from MCI after controlling for covariates (hazard ratio, 0.71) than participants without HF.

Conclusions: Heart failure was associated with accelerated cognitive decline.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Cumulative Incidence Function Plots for Time to Develop Cognitive Impairment between HF and non-HF
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tsao CW, Aday AW, Almarzooq ZI, et al. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2022 Update: a report From the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2022;145(8):e153–e639. - PubMed
    1. Cannon JA, Moffitt P, Perez-Moreno AC, et al. Cognitive impairment and heart failure: systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Cardiac Failure. 2017;23(6):464–475. - PubMed
    1. Doehner W, Ural D, Haeusler KG, et al. Heart and brain interaction in patients with heart failure: overview and proposal for a taxonomy. A position paper from the Study Group on Heart and Brain Interaction of the Heart Failure Association. European Journal of Heart Failure. 2018;20(2):199–215. - PubMed
    1. Woo MA, Kumar R, Macey PM, Fonarow GC, Harper RM. Brain injury in autonomic, emotional, and cognitive regulatory areas in patients with heart failure. Journal of Cardiac Failure. 2009;15(3):214–223. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Roy B, Woo MA, Wang DJ, Fonarow GC, Harper RM, Kumar R. Reduced regional cerebral blood flow in patients with heart failure. European Journal of Heart Failure. 2017;19(10):1294–1302. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Grants and funding