What's bad for the heart is also bad for the brain

Apr 01, 2019 06:00 am

People who have risk factors for heart disease such as diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity may also be more likely to develop structural changes in the brain that can lead to dementia, a recent study in the European Heart Journal suggests.

Researchers found that except for high cholesterol, all the other vascular risk factors - smoking, high blood pressure, high pulse pressure, diabetes and obesity - were linked to abnormal brain changes seen in dementia.

And the more vascular risk factors a person had, the poorer was their brain health, as evidenced by greater brain shrinkage, less grey matter (tissue mainly on surface of the brain) and less healthy white matter (tissue in deeper parts of the brain). - REUTERS