Brain and heart health are linked together. Here are 5 ways to control both
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Heart, brain and mental health conditions may overlap in ways that doctors and patients should be aware of and address, according to new Canadian guidelines.
Monday issue of Canadian Medical Association Journal A total of 11 recommendations are listed to benefit a person’s heart and cardiovascular system as well as reduce their risk of dementia.
“I think a lot of people don’t realize that if they have heart disease, they may be at risk for stroke or cognitive impairment,” said lead author Jody Edwards, a scientist and director of the Brain and Heart Nexus Research Program at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.
“At the same time, the benefit is that if you manage those risks properly and reduce the risk of heart disease, you also get benefits for your brain,” said Edwards, an associate professor at the University of Ottawa.
Edwards called the new recommendations timely given the increased detection of heart flutter as the population ages, as well as the increase in people with multiple chronic conditions.
there may be fluttering irregular heartbeatThe most common type of irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia, which physicians say puts you at higher risk of stroke and heart failure.
Recommendations include:
- Screening people with atrial fibrillation for risk of cognitive decline.
- Screening for depression in people with coronary artery disease and treating it with evidence-based treatments when diagnosed.
- Starting intensive blood pressure or hypertension lowering therapy in people at increased cardiovascular risk to reduce the risk of cognitive impairment.
- To begin acute cholesterol lowering to prevent heart attack in people with a history of stroke, and to prevent stroke in people after a heart attack or myocardial infarction.
- Influenza, pneumococcus and shingles vaccinations are routinely offered to help prevent stroke, heart attack and vascular cognitive impairment, especially to people aged 65 and older.
In particular, Edwards suggested more regular monitoring after controlling high blood pressure or screening for dementia.
New guidelines from the University of Ottawa Heart Institute are encouraging doctors in Canada to screen for and treat heart, brain and mental health conditions in an integrated manner.
Geriatrician Samir Sinha, a physician scientist at Mount Sinai Health and University Health Network in Toronto, welcomed the new guidelines, which he was not involved in developing.
“What’s good for your heart is good for your brain,” Sinha said, noting that he often brings up both areas holistically with his patients.
Sinha suggested that more could have been included in the recommendations, such as how Lancet Commission It has been noted that if one has diabetes, keeping it under control helps prevent the risk of dementia in the future as well as reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Sinha said he hopes primary care providers and others reading the guidelines will think like geriatricians as well as heart, brain and mental health experts.
