But new research links the two, finding that a healthier heart may lead to better brain function.
Specifically, participants with healthier heart structures performed better at problem-solving and had quicker reaction times.
Raisi-Estabragh adds that past research links heart disease to dementia.
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The study was published inEuropean Heart JournalCardiovascular Imagingin May.
They also looked for certain features within the heart’s structure that indicate a healthier organ.
The tests adjusted for several outside factors like age, sex, smoking, exercise levels, and more.
This helped researchers estimate heart and brain relationships regardless of individual differences.
“And so this means that looking for alternative biological links is worthwhile.”
The heart receives deoxygenated blood from the veins.
This loop is made possible through simple expansion and contraction, producing a beat.
The heart beats about100,000 times a day.
Raisi-Estabragh adds that small studies have shown that processes that drive Alzheimer’s might also drive heart disease.
Still, these studies need further examination.
What This Means For You
Supporting your heart health now may improve your overall brain health too.
“At the moment, the best advice is a healthy, balanced lifestyle,” Raisi-Estabragh says.
“Within that, I’d say the top ones would be exercise and not smoking.”
Published online May 14, 2021. doi:10.1093/ehjci/jeab075
