Scientists from Emory University in Atlanta found that women with atrial fibrillation experienced cognitive decline faster than men. To work published In Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Atrial fibrillation (atrial fibrillation) is the most common heart rhythm disorder, affecting more than 40 million people worldwide. People with this disease have a five times greater risk of stroke than their healthy peers, but anticoagulants can reduce it.
In the new study, scientists analyzed data from 43.6 thousand participants in the NACC study, collected since 1984. 4,593 (11%) participants had atrial fibrillation at baseline.
Women with atrial fibrillation were three times more likely to have mild cognitive impairment and dementia at baseline compared to women without atrial fibrillation. Men with fibrillation also had an increased, but to a lesser extent, risk of cognitive impairment compared to healthy men.
Not only did the prevalence of cognitive impairments differ, but also their severity. Over a median period of four years, 30% of the participants developed severe cognitive impairment and 21% developed dementia. Women with atrial fibrillation had a higher risk of more severe dementia and rapid disease progression. In men, the relationship was much less pronounced.
Analyzes were adjusted for factors that may have affected the outcome, such as age, gender, race, education, body mass index, smoking, depression, hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart failure, stroke, and sleep apnea.
“Symptoms of atrial fibrillation in women are often overlooked by healthcare professionals or attributed to stress or anxiety, so they may go undiagnosed for a long time, whereas men are more likely to get a diagnosis and prompt treatment,” the scientists wrote.
Late diagnosis causes women to take anticoagulants later to prevent blood clots and strokes caused by atrial fibrillation. The study’s authors say these women may have had blood clots that have lodged in small blood vessels in the brain, which can lead to a gradual loss of brain function and the development of cognitive impairment.
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