Written by Corrie Pelc — Fact checked by Jill Seladi-Schulman, Ph.D.
In a new study, researchers found a link between having higher Life’s Simple 7 scores for cardiovascular health in older adults and a potential decrease in biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases. They also note that increased heart disease education could be particularly beneficial for members of the Black and African American community, who have a higher risk of both cardiovascular disease and dementia.
“Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, are the most disabling disorders in older adults, with a significant burden on individuals and caregivers,” Anisa Dhana, MD, MSc, a postdoctoral research fellow for the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, and corresponding author of the study told Medical News Today. “Research focused on the prevention of Alzheimer’s could have a great public health impact.”
“The American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7 is a well-established tool for promoting cardiovascular health, which has been strongly linked to lower risks of cardiovascular disease and stroke,” Dhana continued. “Since cardiovascular disease and dementia share common risk factors, we aimed to investigate the role of Life’s Simple 7 in the neurodegeneration process.”
Upon analysis, researchers found that participants with the highest CVH scores had significantly lower serum levels of a neurodegeneration biomarker called neurofilament light chain (NfL). Additionally, those with high CVH scores experienced slower annual increase in NfL levels as participants aged.
“NfL is a protein found in nerve cells that helps keep them strong and healthy,” Dhana explained. “When these cells are damaged, NfL is released into the blood and spinal fluid, making it a useful marker of brain health. We used NfL in our study because higher levels may indicate nerve cell damage, helping us understand the potential link between cardiovascular health and neurodegeneration.”
“These results highlight the importance of maintaining good CVH through managing risk factors, as it may help reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s,” she added.
Dhana and her team also observed that participants with the highest CVH scores were predominantly White.
Researchers believe this suggests that promoting cardiovascular health education in older adults, especially in the Black community, may help lighten the burden of neurodegenerative diseases.
“Improving cardiovascular health in older adults may help reduce the impact of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly in Black adults, who experience higher rates of cardiovascular disease. These findings emphasize the need for greater awareness and access to cardiovascular health resources in communities with largely Black individuals.”— Anisa Dhana, MD, MSc
“We plan to further explore the link between cardiovascular health and neurodegeneration by examining additional biomarkers directly related to brain pathology, such as amyloid-beta. Future research may evaluate the success of interventions (e.g., diet and physical activity interventions) in reducing biomarkers of neurodegeneration levels, such as NfL,” Dhana said.
MNT had an opportunity to speak with Cheng-Han Chen, MD, a board certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA, about this study.
“This study reaffirms the importance of following the American Heart Association’s Simple 7 guidelines to help control cardiovascular risk factors,” Chen commented. “In particular, this study supports previous research that has found an association between cardiovascular health and neurological health, specifically by controlling the future risk of dementia.”
“As our population continues to age, we will continue to see higher and higher rates of neurodegenerative disease in our population, which then results in a significant health burden to our society,” he continued. “If we’re able to lower the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, we can potentially significantly improve the overall health of our elderly population.”
“Traditionally medically underserved communities such as (the) Black population face a particular burden from neurodegenerative diseases. This research supports a need to reach out to these communities in order to improve their health outcomes.”
— Cheng-Han Chen, MD
MNT also spoke with Jason Tarpley, MD, PhD, a board certified vascular neurologist and medical director of the Pacific Stroke and Neurovascular Center at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, about this research.
“We used to think that neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia illnesses were genetic-based, and then there are other diseases like stroke and heart attack, which are more related to cardiovascular risk factors,” Tarpley explained. “But over the years, we’ve really recognized that there’s a lot of overlap. I think this study is pretty interesting in the sense that it gives a potential mechanism by which that may happen.”
“I would love to see a prospective study that would look at a high risk population and see if improving CVH scores lowered biomarkers and decreased risk of developing neurodegeneration,” he added.
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This article originally appeared here and was republished with permission.
