Most of us think that heart disease (also called coronary artery disease) is a condition of old age. It happens to people in their 60s, and 70s… not to people who are 30 or 40 years old.
But this is a fallacy. CAD can strike much earlier than most of us realize.
And new research is telling us that, if you fall victim to heart disease at a younger age, you are pretty much a sitting duck for Alzheimer’s and dementia later in life.
Here’s why you and your loved ones want to start thinking about heart health sooner rather than later…
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According to new research, adults diagnosed with coronary heart disease, especially before the age of 45, may be at increased risk of developing dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia later in life.
“Coronary heart disease has previously been associated with dementia risk in older adults,” says senior study author Dr. Fanfan Zheng of Peking Union Medical College.
“However, this is believed to be the first large-scale study examining whether the age of coronary heart disease onset may impact the risk of developing dementia later in life.”
By analyzing health data on 430,000 people from the UK Biobank, researchers assessed the potential relationship between the age when coronary heart disease sets in and the development of dementia:
- Participants with coronary heart disease before age 45 had a 36% increased risk of developing dementia, a 13% increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s and a 78% greater risk of developing vascular dementia.
- Each year’s decrease in the age of onset of CHD was associated with a 25% increase in risk of dementia, a 29% increased risk of Alzheimer’s, and a 22% increased risk of vascular dementia.
In other words, the younger you are when you develop heart disease, the more likely it is you’ll end up with dementia.
This isn’t the first study that’s connected poor heart health and high blood pressure to dementia.
Several years ago, a study at the University of Sheffield in England found that heart disease causes a brain dysfunction that could lead to dementia long before the buildup of any plaque in the blood vessels of the brain.
That study found heart disease triggers a breakdown in neurovascular coupling, a key brain function linking brain activity and blood flow. This means the brain gets less blood and less oxygen despite the same amount of activity.
They also found a combination of heart disease and a key Alzheimer’s gene triples the amount of Alzheimer’s-causing protein in the brain.
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Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s. Its causes and risk factors are different from AD, and it’s much more under our control.
Its name, vascular dementia, tells us that it has everything to do with our blood vessels, which means that avoiding heart disease, especially in our 40s, is a key way to avoid it, even before memory loss takes over.
The bottom line: if you pay attention to the condition of your heart and blood vessels (especially in your 40s and 50s, but really at any age), you will also be keeping your brain healthy and lowering your chance of ending up with dementia.
The big three — eating well, exercising, and controlling stress — come into play here…
Diet: If you want the ultimate heart-healthy diet, go for the Pesco-Mediterranean diet that substitutes fish for meat. Its other main foods are fruits (like the berry that improved heart and blood vessel function in 30 days) and green leafy vegetables, legumes, seeds, and whole grains, with eggs and dairy products in moderation.
Now if you’re reading this and you’re way past 45 and living with heart disease, you can still support your brain health and lower your risk of dementia by improving your diet. Previous studies have indicated that the anthocyanins in blueberries can help improve cognition and memory as well as increase blood flow to the brain in older adults.
Exercise: We’re not talking about running marathons here. Even stair climbing (which I do every day when I forget something in my third-floor bedroom) benefits both the heart and brain.
Stress: If you’re a “Type A” and are having trouble getting control of your stress levels, be open to learning yoga or tai chi. Both have been proven to ease stress on your heart and arteries, helping to control blood pressure and prevent heart disease.
Supplement vitamin K2: In what’s known as the Rotterdam Study, researchers found that high vitamin K2 intake was associated with a 52 percent lower risk of calcification of the arteries, reduced overall total cholesterol and enhanced overall arterial blood flow.
Sources:
Coronary heart disease before age 45 may increase risk of dementia later in life — Eureka Alert
Association Between Onset Age of Coronary Heart Disease and Incident Dementia: A Prospective Cohort Study — Journal of the American Heart Association
Coronary Artery Disease – Coronary Heart Disease — American Heart Association
Assessment of neurovascular coupling and cortical spreading depression in mixed mouse models of atherosclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease — eLife
Heart disease causes early brain dysfunction and can treble key Alzheimer’s protein — University of Sheffield
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