People who, in addition to having type 2 diabetes, are diagnosed with cognitive impairment may be more likely to develop a cerebrovascular accident, such as a stroke, a heart attack or even a higher risk of dying, compared to those who only have diabetes.
This has been revealed by a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism of the Endocrine Society. In it, the association between cognitive function and possible future cardiovascular events was analyzed in 8,772 patients with type 2 diabetes belonging to the Researching Cardiovascular Events with a Weekly Incretin in Diabetes (REWIND) trial, who were followed up for five years .
The researchers found evidence that people who had severe cognitive impairment were up to 1.6 times more likely to have major adverse cardiovascular events and 1.8 times more likely to have a stroke or die compared to those who did not. brain problem.
Predict future cardiac risk with cognitive tests
“Our study found low scores on cognitive tests that predicted heart disease in people with diabetes and other cardiac risk factors. Although the explanation for this remains unclear, proven cardiac medications should be offered to these patients to reduce their future risk of heart attack or stroke,” says co-author Hertzel C. Gerstein.
People with severe cognitive impairment had a 1.6-fold increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events and a 1.8-fold increased risk of stroke or death
The results obtained could suggest that cognitive function could help health professionals to predict the future risk of heart disease in a person, which would allow anticipating the problem, trying to prevent it or treating it prematurely to obtain better clinical results.
Cognitive impairment is very limiting, as it manifests itself with problems remembering, learning new things, concentrating or making decisions that affect your day-to-day life. The main risk factor for this disease is age and it can be more or less severe depending on the patient. In addition, it has been associated with other health problems, such as Alzheimer’s, heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
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