Scientists have linked hidden heart damage to the risk of dementia

Even a slight injury to the heart muscle, unnoticeable to the patient, can trigger the process of gradual cognitive decline. Participants with the highest troponin levels had a 38% higher risk of dementia compared to people with minimal levels. The changes were recorded years—sometimes decades—before the first symptoms appeared. This was reported on November 5 in the journal Medical Xpress.

The head of the study, Professor Eric Brunner (UCL), noted that the condition of the heart in middle age is directly related to the risk of developing dementia in old age. According to him, brain damage accumulates slowly — over decades, long before the first signs of memory impairment appear.

He also stressed that prevention should begin in advance: control of blood pressure, cholesterol levels and weight, in his opinion, can slow down or even prevent the development of both cardiovascular diseases and dementia.

The study involved almost 6,000 people from the long-term Whitehall II project, which has been monitoring the health of British civil servants since 1985. None of the participants had dementia or heart disease at the start. The analysis showed that higher troponin levels at the age of 45-69 years are associated with an accelerated decline in memory, attention, and thinking speed in subsequent years.

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A separate group of 641 participants underwent an MRI scan. People with high troponin levels showed a decrease in the hippocampus and gray matter volume, structures responsible for memory and information processing. These changes are equivalent to "accelerated aging" of the brain for two to three years.

"The study reminds us that heart health and brain health are inextricably linked. Middle age is a critical period when damage accumulates, which determines further deterioration of the condition," said Professor Brian Williams, Chief Researcher at the British Heart Foundation.

Science Daily reported on November 4 that increased physical activity can significantly slow the onset of Alzheimer's disease, especially for people at increased risk. This is due to a slowdown in cognitive impairment in elderly people with elevated levels of beta-amyloid, a protein closely associated with the disease.

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