Hidden Sign of Impending Heart Disease Revealed

Cognitive decline in older adults may begin long before the onset of cardiovascular disease — several years before diagnosis. This is evidenced by a large-scale study conducted by scientists from Monash University, published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

The researchers analyzed data from more than 19,000 people over the age of 65 from Australia and the United States who had no cardiovascular conditions at the start of the observation period. Over 11 years of follow-up, 1,934 participants were diagnosed with such diseases. This group was compared with a control group consisting of healthy volunteers.

The results were striking: in those who were subsequently given a cardiovascular diagnosis, cognitive functions began to decline three to eight years before the disease was detected. Compared with healthy participants, they experienced noticeably faster deterioration in memory, processing speed, verbal fluency, and overall cognitive performance.

A similar pattern was observed prior to the development of stroke, coronary heart disease, and heart failure, including fatal cases. The only exception was non-fatal myocardial infarction — no such pattern was found in these cases.

The authors of the study emphasize that the findings point to the need for early monitoring of cognitive status in older adults. They believe that such an approach could help identify cardiovascular disease risks at early stages and significantly improve prevention efforts.