August 8, 2010

Keep Your Brain Healthy By Taking Care Of Your Heart

Posted in Heart Disease in the News, Heart disease tips, New Heart Studies tagged , , , , at 1:29 am by keepyourhearthealthy

photo by Francesco Marino

While it may seem a bit like common sense, we now have a study to prove that heart failure makes things worse for your brain.

The study which was done in Boston showed that people who had decreased heart performance (measured as cardiac index in this study) had smaller brain volumes and decreased information processing speed.  In other words, if your heart cannot pump enough blood to the body and brain, your brain is more likely to shrink and you may have a harder time thinking properly.

The study investigators said on www.theheart.org that they believe a lower heart function might cause small injuries to the brain.  It appears they are hoping more research into this topic might lead to earlier intervention of heart problems so as to avoid dementia in the elderly populations.  Certainly the thought of a shrinking brain and dementia should be enough to get all of us on track towards a healthier heart!