A Healthier Heart Means a Healthier Brain

A Healthier Heart Means a Healthier Brain
Lifestyle habits that promote heart health can also help reduce your risk of cognitive problems as you age, according to a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) published in the journal Stroke.

“Heart disease and brain health are deeply interconnected, and this relationship is bidirectional,” says Fernando Testai, MD, PhD, lead author of the AHA statement and a neurology professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

“Heart diseases can lead to brain injury and, in return, damage to particular areas of the brain (as occurs in stroke) can result in cardiac disorders,” Dr. Testai adds. “Thus, by cultivating healthier hearts at a young age, we are protecting the brain, and vice versa.”

The new AHA scientific statement reviews the latest research examining the connections between cardiovascular health and brain health — including the risk for dementia, cognitive impairment, or neurological and psychological issues.

How Heart Health Impacts Brain Health

Heart failure, when the heart doesn’t pump blood as efficiently as it should, is associated with a 14 to 81 percent higher risk of experiencing cognitive impairment that affects language skills, memory, or executive function, according to the statement.

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