Eine schlechte Herzgesundheit im mittleren Alter führt zu Demenz im Alter. Untersuchungen ergaben, dass mit jeder Verdoppelung des Troponins das Demenzrisiko um 10 % stieg, selbst unter Berücksichtigung von Alter, Geschlecht, Blutdruck, Cholesterin, Diabetes und anderen kardiologischen Risikofaktoren.

For generations, medicine treated the heart and brain as separate domains. However, a new study suggests the two are more closely connected than we thought, especially as we age.

A 25-year study of nearly 6,000 adults found that subtle heart muscle damage in middle age predicts dementia risk decades later.

The research, known as the Whitehall study, tracked UK civil servants aged 45 to 69 and measured levels of a protein called “cardiac troponin I” in their blood. Troponin I appears in the blood when heart cells are damaged and is used to help diagnose heart attacks.

The protein is detected using a standard blood test. These tests have become more sensitive in recent years, so even very small amounts of troponin can now be detected – levels far below those seen in a heart attack – and these small changes can signal many other conditions.

In the Whitehall study, people with the highest levels of troponin I in midlife were 38% more likely to be diagnosed with dementia later in life than those with the lowest levels. These small increases don’t cause obvious symptoms, such as chest pain, but they suggest the heart is under strain even if a person feels fine.

Over 25 years, people with higher starting troponin levels were more likely to develop dementia than those with lower levels. For every doubling of troponin, dementia risk rose by 10%, even after considering age, sex, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and other cardiac risk factors.

https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf834/8307234?searchresult=1&login=false