Cognitive Impairment Patterns in Chronic Heart Failure

Longitudinal Differences in Cognitive Functioning Among Older Adults With and Without Heart Failure

Objective: Secondary data analyses were conducted to examine cognitive function and longitudinal cognitive decline among older adults with and without heart failure (HF). Method: Data from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly study were used to compare baseline ( N = 2,790) and longitudinal ( n = 692) changes in memory, reasoning, and speed of processing performance among participants ( M age = 73.61, SD = 5.89) who self-reported HF at baseline, developed HF over time, or never reported HF. Results: At baseline, there were differences in memory and speed of processing with participants who never reported HF performing better than those who reported developing HF over time, and those who reported HF at baseline performing the worst ( ps < .05). Longitudinally, participants with self-reported HF at baseline showed declines in reasoning over time. Discussion: The results indicate that cognitive difficulties in memory and speed may occur prior to a HF diagnosis, while those with HF may experience steeper declines in reasoning as measured by word series test.

Cognitive profile in persons with systolic and diastolic heart failure

Persons with heart failure (HF) have four times the risk of having cognitive impairment compared with the general population and display different patterns of cognitive impairment. This secondary analysis of a published cross-sectional study of 90 community-dwelling adults examined the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores and HF differentiated as systolic and diastolic HF. Mean MoCA score was 22.9 (standard deviation±2.31) in persons with systolic HF (n=69) and 24.8 (standard deviation±2.76) in persons with diastolic HF (n=21) with statistically significant mean difference between groups (t=-2.025, P=.030). Independent t test on the eight MoCA domain scores and systolic and diastolic HF indicated significance on visuo-spatial/executive function (P=.026), attention (P=.049), abstraction (P=.014), and delayed recall (P=.048). Findings from this study support the need for including persons with systolic and diastolic HF in future researches on identifying varying cognitive profiles to plan tailored cognitive intervention.