An implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is a small electronic device that monitors and regulates heartbeat, and many have been implanted in patients — an estimated 114,000 in the U.S. in 2006. Part of the implantation process involves ventricular defibrillation testing, which temporarily disrupts brain activity by causing a drop in blood pressure and blood flow to the brain. In a study involving 52 patients having cognitive tests several days before ICD surgery and again six weeks and six and 12 months afterwards, more than a third of participants had significant cognitive problems six weeks and six and 12 months after ICD surgery. Attention, short-term memory of visual words and objects, and auditory (spoken) words were most commonly affected. Although most patients regained their normal abilities by 12 months after surgery, a few (10%) first developed difficulties at that point. The results were unrelated to measurements of anxiety, depression and quality of life.
Test of implantable cardioverter defibrillator linked to cognitive problems
Reference
Hallas, C. N., Burke, J. L., White, D. G., & Connelly, D. T. (2010). A Prospective One Year Study of Changes in Neuropsychological Functioning Following Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Surgery. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol, CIRCEP.109.909580 - CIRCEP.109.909580. Retrieved from http://circep.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/CIRCEP.109.909580v1
Related News
Why metabolic syndrome is linked to cognitive decline?
I’ve reported before on the growing evidence that metabolic syndrome in middle and old age is linked to greater risk of cognitive impairment in old age and faster decline. A new study shows at least part of the reason.
Poor sleep in old age increases risk of cognitive impairment
Older adults who sleep poorly react to stress with increased inflammation
A study involving 83 older adults (average age 61) has found that poor sleepers reacted to a stressful situation with a significantly greater inflammatory response than good sleepers. High levels of inflammation increase the risk of several disorders, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and have been implicated in Alzheimer’s.
How neighborhood status affects cognitive function in older adults
In the last five years, three studies have linked lower neighborhood socioeconomic status to lower cognitive function in older adults. Neighborhood has also been linked to self-rated health, cardiovascular disease, and mortality. Such links between health and neighborhood may come about through exposure to pollutants or other environmental stressors, access to alcohol and cigarettes, barriers to physical activity, reduced social support, and reduced access to good health and social services.
Common health complaints increase Alzheimer's risk
A ten-year study involving 7,239 older adults (65+) has found that each common health complaint increased dementia risk by an average of about 3%, and that these individual risks compounded. Thus, while a healthy older adult had about an 18% chance of developing dementia after 10 years, those with a dozen of these health complaints had, on average, closer to a 40% chance.
Air pollution impacts cognitive performance
Following several recent studies pointing to the negative effect of air pollution on children’s cognitive performance (see this April 2010 news report and this May 2011 report), a study of public schools in Michigan has found that 62.5% of the 3660 schools in the state are located in areas with high levels of industrial pollution, and those in areas with the highest industrial air pollution levels had the lo
Temporary cognitive impairment for many hospitalized seniors
A study involving 200 older adults (70+) experiencing a stay in hospital has found that at discharge nearly a third (31.5%) had previously unrecognized low cognitive function (scoring below 25 on the MMSE if high-school-educated, or below 18 if not). This impairment had disappeared a month later for more than half (58%).The findings are consistent with previous research showing a lack of comprehension of discharge instructions, often resulting in rehospitalization.
More evidence linking heart disease risk factors and cognitive decline
A study involved 117 older adults (mean age 78) found those at greater risk of coronary artery disease had substantially greater risk for decline in verbal fluency and the ability to ignore irrelevant information. Verbal memory was not affected.
The findings add to a growing body of research linking cardiovascular risk factors and age-related cognitive decline, leading to the mantra: What’s good for the heart is good for the brain.
Metabolic syndrome linked to memory loss in older people
The new label of ‘metabolic syndrome’ applies to those having three or more of the following risk factors: high blood pressure, excess belly fat, higher than normal triglycerides, high blood sugar and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol). Metabolic syndrome has been linked to increased risk of heart attack.
Steep cholesterol decline in older women linked to Alzheimer's risk
Research into the link, if any, between cholesterol and dementia, has been somewhat contradictory. A very long-running Swedish study may explain why. The study, involving 1,462 women aged 38-60 in 1968, has found that cholesterol measured in middle or old age showed no link to dementia, but there was a connection between dementia and the rate of decline in cholesterol level.
Brain may age faster in people whose hearts pump less blood
I have often spoken of the mantra: What’s good for your heart is good for your brain. The links between cardiovascular risk factors and cognitive decline gets more confirmation in this latest finding that people whose hearts pumped less blood had smaller brains than those whose hearts pumped more blood. The study involved 1,504 participants of the decades-long Framingham Offspring Cohort who did not have a history of stroke, transient ischemic attack or dementia. Participants were 34 to 84 years old.