- Researchers report that silent brain infarction (SBI) and cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) are more common among people with heart conditions.
- CSVD is the second leading cause of vascular dementia after Alzheimer’s disease.
- Expert say routine brain imaging of people with heart conditions could lead to early detection of health issues.
Subtle changes to blood vessels in the brain, common among people with certain heart conditions, can increase the risk of stroke and dementia, a new study reports.
The review of more than 220 previously published studies found that changes to blood vessels known as silent brain infarction (SBI) and
“When the tiny blood vessels in your brain become narrow and blocked, it can prevent blood from reaching certain areas of your brain,” Dr. Michael Ross MacDonald, a cardiologist at The Harley Street Heart and Vascular Centre in Singapore, told Medical News Today.
“Over time, this damage can accumulate and result in symptoms of vascular cognitive impairment, eventually progressing to vascular dementia,” said MacDonald, who was not involved in the study.
The meta-analysis, published in the journal Neurology, concluded that SBI was detectable in about one in three people with heart disease.
Two-thirds of the people studied had white matter lesions (damage to the protective coating around nerve fibers), a quarter had evidence of asymptomatic microbleeds in the brain, and more than half had brain atrophy, defined as a shrinkage due to loss of neurons or connections between neurons.
“Generally speaking, what is bad for the heart is bad for the brain, so various cardiac conditions [like SBI and CSVD] contributing to cerebrovascular injury… makes complete sense,” said Dr….
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