Common heart conditions raise the risk of dementia, experts say

If you are one of the millions with heart disease, you have a higher risk for future dementia, according to the American Heart Association.

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.”

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.