As heart ages, memory weakens

A research, recently done, in which, 314 people with a mean age of 73 years, were included. The selected people did not have heart failure, stroke or dementia. Only 40 percent of the people had mild cognitive impairment with higher risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

As the person ages, the heart pumping efficiency reduces and as a result, the blood does not reach the brain memory center.

The sample population was subjected to a test to determine the blood pumping efficiency of the heart relative to the body size and MRI was also performed on all the participants to examine the blood flow in their brain.

It was concluded from the study that when blood flow is improper, then either of the temporal lobes – regions of brain involved in memory processing – does not receive proper blood. This was reported by Angela Jefferson, Director, Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Memory & Alzheimer’s Center, Nashville.

She also mentioned that the results are highly surprising in terms of reduction in the blood flow in 15-20 years older. She concluded, “It is also possible the temporal lobes, where Alzheimer’s disease first begins, may be especially vulnerable due to a less extensive network of sources of blood flow. If we can better understand how this process works, we could potentially develop prevention methods or treatments.”