Irregular heartbeat linked to mental and physical decline

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/teo.jpg” caption=”Koon Teo, professor of medicine in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, has found a strong association between an irregular heartbeat and an increased risk of dementia. File photo.”]McMaster researchers have found a strong association between an irregular heartbeat
and an increased risk of dementia.

While it's known that having an irregular heartbeat – also known as atrial fibrillation –
raises the risk of dementia among stroke survivors, the new study found this link is
evident in individuals with irregular heartbeats who have not suffered a stroke.

The research, conducted by the Population Health Research Institute at McMaster
University, appears in the current issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

The authors of the study also saw a significant association between atrial fibrillation and
functional decline (loss of independence with activities of daily living) and the need for
long-term care.

Atrial fibrillation affects approximately 350,000 Canadians, according to the Heart and
Stroke Foundation of Canada.

In their study, McMaster researchers sought to understand if there was an association
between irregular heartbeat and the loss of mental and physical functions in people at
risk of cardiovascular disease.

They looked at data from two randomized controlled trials – the ONTARGET and
TRANSCEND trials – which involved 31,546 patients from 733 centres in 40 countries.
Participants were 55 years of age and older with cardiovascular disease or diabetes, and
some organ damage from their disease.

The researchers assessed cognitive function at the outset, after two years and at a
patient's second last appointment. The mini-mental state examination was used to
gauge attention, ability to calculate, recall, name, repeat, read and comprehend.

“The composite outcome of a decline in examination score by three or more points,
dementia, admission to long-term care facility and loss of independence in performing
activities of daily living occurred in 26 per cent of patients without atrial fibrillation and
in 34 per cent of patients with atrial fibrillation,” said Dr. Koon Teo, professor of
medicine in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University and
PHRI associate director.

The researchers conclude their findings highlight the need to include cognitive and
functional measures in clinical trials of patients with atrial fibrillation.