CNN
—
Keeping your brain sharp as you age has a lot to do with
your heart — and the younger you start taking better care of it, the
better — according to a new scientific statement published Thursday by the American Heart Association.
“Dementia is commonly seen as an incurable and relentless
disease that cannot be prevented,” said Dr. Fernando Testai, a professor
of neurology and rehabilitation at the University of Illinois College
of Medicine in Chicago, in a statement.
“Evidence shows, however, that adopting a healthy lifestyle
and identifying and treating vascular risk factors early may help
preserve normal brain function and reduce the burden of Alzheimer’s
disease and other related dementias,” said Testai, who chaired the
statement writing group.
Nearly 130 million adults in the United States have some form of heart disease, according to the AHA.
Adopting a heart-heathy lifestyle should start early in life, even
before a baby is born, said Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of
cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in
Denver.
“This call to action is especially critical right now
because so many Americans have some form of heart disease and people are
getting sicker and sicker earlier in life,” said Freeman, who was not
involved in writing the AHA statement.
“The typical American curse is that we all work hard our
whole lives,” Freeman said. “We save our money, we get ready to retire,
and then we look forward to heart attacks, strokes, dementia — diseases
that are potentially avoidable if we can act early enough and change our
lifestyles.”
Dementia and plaque in the arteries
Coronary heart disease, which is the buildup of plaque in the body’s arteries, is the lead killer in the world, according to the World Health Organization. Deaths from coronary artery disease have risen from 6.4 million in 2000 to 9.1 million in 2021, the WHO said.
The disease also takes a toll on the brain. The narrowing of
arteries that occurs with coronary heart disease and high blood
pressure can reduce blood flow and cause damage to the small blood
vessels in the brain, resulting in cognitive impairment, the AHA said.
High blood pressure and type 2 diabetes can also reduce blood flow to
the brain and increase inflammation, leading to cognitive decline and
dementia.
Having coronary heart disease raises the risk of future
dementia by 27% compared with people without heart disease, the AHA
statement said. The disease can start in a person’s 40s and 50s, often with no visible symptoms to alert a person of the danger.
Well, what will remove the plaque in the arteries?
I'm sure your competent? doctor put together EXACT PROTOCOLS based on these research points! NO? So you don't have a functioning stroke doctor, do you? RUN AWAY!
plaque removal
(5 posts to July 2017) Only 7 years for your doctor to prove incompetence!
Heart attacks and heart failure
About every 40 seconds, someone in the United States will
have a heart attack, the AHA estimates. After that happens, up to 50% of
those who survive experience loss of brain function, with some taking a
sharper decline into cognitive impairment, the AHA statement said.
Heart failure is a more severe form of heart disease, in
which the heart is too weak to pump enough blood and oxygen to the
body’s organs. According to the new scientific statement, up to 81% of
people with heart failure can have some form of cognitive decline that
impacts their memory, language, or ability to think and plan.
“Emerging evidence suggests that the bidirectional
relationship between the heart and the brain is deeper than we thought,”
Testai said in an email. “Vascular risk factors associated with cardiac
diseases, such as diabetes, can increase the levels of beta-amyloid in
the brain. which is recognized as a key marker of Alzheimer’s disease.
“In return, beta-amyloid has been found in the heart and is
associated with cardiac dysfunction,” he said. “These findings suggest a
fundamental biochemical connection between the heart and the brain.”
A-fib and dementia
Known as A-fib, atrial fibrillation is an irregular
heartbeat often described by many people who have it as a “quiver,”
“flutter” or “flip-flop” of the heart in the chest.
Atrial fibrillation is the leading cause of stroke in the US. In addition, strokes connected to A-fib tend to be “more severe than strokes with other underlying causes,” according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Small brain bleeds, called microhemorrhages, that can lead
to cognitive decline are more common in people with atrial fibrillation,
according to the new scientific statement. In fact, people with A-fib
have a 39% increased risk of memory or thinking problems.
The rate of atrial fibrillation in the US is growing — estimates suggest up to 16 million people will have A-fib by 2050.
Modern medicine has amazing drugs — such as statins and
cholesterol-lowering medications — that can prevent or slow heart
disease, especially if caught early, Freeman said. Regular checkups and
taking prescribed medications on a daily basis are critical to making
that happen, he added.
However, there is a limit on what drugs can accomplish. For
example, aggressively treating high blood pressure has shown promise in
reducing mild cognitive impairment but not dementia, the AHA statement
said.
“Humans were designed to live very differently than we live
today, and it’s an imperative that people understand how unbelievably
important lifestyle is,” Freeman said.
What are the key lifestyle factors that boost brain health? Nothing you haven’t heard before.
Being well-rested boosts mood, improves energy and sharpens the brain. People who have more interrupted sleep in their 30s and 40s are more than twice as likely to have memory and thinking problems a decade later, a January study found.
The “sweet spot” for restorative slumber is when you can sleep continuously through the four stages of sleep four to six times each night.
Since each cycle is roughly 90 minutes long, most people need seven to
eight hours of relatively uninterrupted z’s to achieve this goal.
Be sure to eat a healthier plant-based diet, such as the award-winning Mediterranean diet.
An August study found eating an anti-inflammatory diet of whole grains, fruits and vegetables instead of an inflammatory diet focused on red and processed meats and ultraprocessed foods, such as sugary cereals, sodas, fries and ice cream, lowered the risk of dementia by 31%.
That benefit held true even for people with existing diagnoses of cardiometabolic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
None of these have any specifics at all, so you don't know if you're doing it right. More pablum from your doctor that really doesn't help at all! What is needed is an EXACT DIET PROTOCOL!
RELATED VIDEO: This diet could lengthen life, study says
High levels of cortisol — the so-called stress hormone —
were associated with damage to the parts of the brain that move and
manage information, an October 2018 study found. Another study published in March 2023 found people with elevated stress levels were 37% more likely to have poor cognition.
Stress isn’t inherently bad, and adopting ways to view
stressors as healthy challenges can help, experts say. Other ways
include getting plenty of sleep, eating healthy foods, and limiting your
time following the news or engaging in social media, according to the World Health Organization. It also helps to stay connected with others and to employ calming practices such as meditation and deep breathing. One of the most successful tools, though, is physical activity.
If there is only lifestyle change you can make, focus on
exercise, Freeman said. Adults should do 150 minutes of
moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each
week, along with strength training, according to the CDC.
You know you’re doing moderate exercise when you are breathing hard and
unable to sing a song, but can still talk. Vigorous activities such as
jogging, swimming laps or playing basketball will make it hard to speak
at all.
The increase in activity benefits the whole body, including the brain, studies have shown. A September 2022 study
found people who walked at a very brisk pace of 112 steps per minute
for 30 minutes a day lowered their risk of dementia by 62%.
Don’t have a step counter? You can count the number of steps
you take in 10 seconds and then multiply it by six — or the number of
steps you take in six seconds and multiply it by 10. Either way works.
“Physical activity is just absolutely magnificent,” Freeman
told CNN. “And when if you blend that with eating a more plant-based
diet, de-stressing, sleeping enough and connecting with others — that’s
your magic recipe. It’s the fountain of youth, if you will.”
