Cardiac atrial fibrillation 'may increase dementia risk'
Monday 8th August 2011
Hospital workers in specialist cardiac jobs could have a role to play in dementia diagnosis, off the back of new research findings.
Sufferers of chronic atrial fibrillation are at a greater risk of dementia such as Alzheimer's disease, according to scientists from the Group Health Research Institute.
The findings published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society show that an irregular heartbeat may actually increase the risk of dementia in more subtle ways than initially thought.
The institute's lead researcher Sascha Dublin explained: "We knew that atrial fibrillation can cause stroke, which can lead to dementia. Now we've learned that atrial fibrillation may increase dementia risk."
Atrial fibrillation weakens the heart's pumping ability and contributes to the increased chance of small blood clots going to the brain, where they cause small, clinically undetected strokes.
"This paper is a wakeup call, telling us that we need to learn more about how to protect brain function, while continuing to give patients with atrial fibrillation the best possible care," added Dr Dublin.
Written by Mathew Horton
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