Cognitive trajectories and incident dementia after a cardiovascular event in older adults

INTRODUCTION: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a recognized risk factor for dementia. Here we determined the extent to which an incident CVD event modifies the trajectory of cognitive function and risk of dementia. METHODS: 19,114 adults (65+) without CVD or dementia were followed prospectively over 9 years. Incident CVD (fatal coronary heart disease, nonfatal myocardial infarction [MI], stroke, hospitalization for heart failure) and dementia (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria) were adjudicated by experts. RESULTS: Nine hundred twenty-two participants had incident CVD, and 44 developed dementia after CVD (4.9% vs. 4.4% for participants without CVD). Following a CVD event there was a short-term drop in processing speed (−1.97, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −2.57 to −1.41), but there was no significant association with longer-term processing speed. In contrast, faster declines in trajectories of global function (−0.56, 95% CI: −0.76 to −0.36), episodic memory (−0.10, 95% CI: −0.16 to −0.04), and verbal fluency (−0.19, 95% CI: −0.30 to −0.01) were observed. DISCUSSION: Findings highlight the importance of monitoring cognition after a CVD event.