Common Condition Increases Dementia Risk by 80%
6.2 Million Adults Suffer from It
I’m sure you’ve heard the song lyrics that go something like…
“The hip bone’s connected to the back bone. The back bone’s connected to the neck bone.
The neck bone’s connected to the head bone. Now shake dem skeleton bones.”
The idea that your bones are connected might seem obvious.
But there are plenty of other connections in your body that aren’t as obvious.
Like how gut health impacts your immune system.
Or how sunlight in your eyes can help repair cartilage in your joints.
And now, researchers have made an alarming connection between your brain and heart health…
Heart disease and dementia.
You’ve been trained to think of markers like blood pressure, triglycerides, and obesity as being major risk factors for heart disease.
But having healthy levels of markers like these is just as critical for maintaining brain function as you age.
And while damage to your heart and blood vessels can increase your risk of something like a heart attack… it can also increase your risk of stroke and dementia.
Like I said… it’s all connected.
Now, a recent report called “The Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2022 Update: A Report from the American Heart Association” highlights the connection yet again.
A meta-analysis of 159 studies showed that people with high blood pressure had a 55 percent higher risk of impaired global cognition, and were 20 percent more likely to experience impaired executive function, dementia, or Alzheimer’s disease.
A meta-analysis of four studies found that those with heart failure were 80 percent more likely to develop dementia.
Those who were obese in midlife had a 33 percent increased risk of dementia.
And smokers had a 30-40 percent increased risk of dementia, vascular dementia, and Alzheimer’s.
The fact that almost 50 percent of all U.S. adults have high blood pressure, and 40 percent are obese, does not bode well for the future of heart health OR brain health.
The takeaway here is that you shouldn’t be thinking of your body in isolation.
The same healthy lifestyle activities that are good for you heart will protect your brain health as well.