Cardiovascular health and Alzheimer’s disease are inter-connected. A recent study identifies a genetic link between heart diseases/cholesterol levels and dementia.
[Source: Hindustan Times]
The latest research claims that the evidence links people having heart conditions with a much quicker cognitive decline as well as an increasing rate of dementia with 26% which affects one’s memory, attention span and daily routine practices.
The blood flow to the heart is restricted due to narrowing of blood vessels in a coronary heart disease condition. The researchers of Edith Cowan University, Australia claimed that the processes underlying the link is still unclear but abnormal levels of fat in blood and inflammation could also be a plausible shared risk factors between coronary artery disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
The scientists focused on genetic methods to examine the complicated relationship between heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
The team working on this research chose to study seven heart disease-related factors such as coronary artery disease, angina and 13 lipids which includes good and bad cholesterol as well. Lipids are said to play a huge role in developing Alzheimer’s.
They said, “Our comprehensive analysis reveals a significant and positive global genetic correlation between Alzheimer’s disease and three lipid traits: LDL, triglycerides, and total cholesterol.
Many of the lipids that scientists researched on were linked with coronary artery diseases but certain lipids had a more direct genetic link with Alzheimer’s disease.
They also suggested that significant genetic correlations were found between coronary artery disease traits and lipid profiles which means HDL, LDL, triglycerides and total cholesterol align with the existing literature that underscores the genetic role in cardiovascular risk factors.
