Yale-Led Study Links Heart Health and Brain Health Outcomes

Maintaining good cardiovascular health could be key for avoiding poor brain health outcomes later in life, a new Yale-led study finds.

Researchers from the Falcone Lab at Yale School of Medicine examined data from more than 300,000 participants in the UK Biobank study and more than 68,000 participants in the All Of Us research study to find whether there was a relationship between 'Life's Essential 8' scores and incidences of dementia, stroke or late-life depression. 

The 'Life's Essential 8' (LE8) is a public health construct created by the American Heart Association to capture key determinants of cardiovascular health, namely: Diet, exercise, smoking status, duration and quality of sleep, body mass index, cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure. "Of note, the LE8 do not focus on risk factors that have to be treated but rather focus on healthy habits and measurements to keep in check during our day-to-day lives," said Santiago Clocchiatti-Tuozzo, MD, postdoctoral fellow in the Falcone Lab and first author of the study. "Moreover, prior research has shown how both the LE8 and each of its components are associated with several common cardiovascular diseases, like myocardial infarction or heart failure."

When LE8 scores were stratified into 'poor,' intermediate,' and 'optimal' groups, the team found participants with 'poor' markers of cardiovascular health were at a two-fold higher risk for stroke, dementia and late-life depression. "Importantly, these potential mechanisms linking cardiovascular and brain health may be more influential among older adults," Clocchiatti-Tuozzo said. "The prevalence of chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, sleep disorders, and disability is known to increase substantially as people age, which may further increase the risk of poor brain health outcomes."

Researchers say the relationship between heart health and brain health is complex. "Firstly, poor cardiovascular health is associated with higher build-up of cholesterol plaques within blood vessels of both the heart and brain, reducing cerebral blood flow," Clocchiatti-Tuozzo added. "Also, high blood pressure, which has been strongly associated with all the poor brain health outcomes included in this study, may chronically damage the heart and brain vasculature."

The study's senior author was Guido J. Falcone. Other study authors included Cyprien A. Rivier, Maximiliano Hawkes, Daniela Renedo,  Shufan Huo, Adam de Havenon, Lee H. Schwamm, Kevin N. Sheth, and Thomas M. Gill.