A Hidden Pattern in Your Pulse Could Signal Future Cognitive Decline
Slight variations in a person’s heart rate may provide important clues about the likelihood of cognitive decline in the coming years, according to a new study. This finding points to a potential quick and easy test to detect early cognitive changes.
Understanding and Preventing Cognitive Impairment
Detecting when and how cognitive decline begins is a major focus in scientific research, allowing for better patient care and clearer understanding of disease progression. It also helps uncover mechanisms behind these conditions and could aid in developing more effective prevention strategies.
In this study, an international team analyzed overnight heart rate data from 503 individuals with an average age of 82. Participants also underwent cognitive testing around the same time, with some having follow-up assessments later.
Using a statistical model called distribution entropy — which predicts health outcomes — researchers found a link between the complexity of heart rate variability (how much the heart rate varied and adapted during sleep) and cognitive decline in later years.
“Higher heart rate complexity is associated with slower cognitive decline in older adults,” the authors wrote in their published paper. Conversely, lower complexity correlated with faster cognitive decline.
“Future studies should explore whether this complexity also predicts risks for neurodegenerative diseases like dementia, and clarify the causal relationships.”
Distribution entropy is a relatively new technique for measuring heartbeat variability and pulse. Prior research has linked resting heartbeat complexity to risks for cardiovascular and respiratory problems.
The central idea is that a more adaptable heart — one that flexibly responds to the body’s internal and external demands — indicates better health. Like a runner changing speed and direction, a heart with greater complexity is more agile and responsive.
New Clues for Early Brain Health Monitoring
While prior work suggested a relationship between heart rate variability and cognitive function, this new approach appears to provide deeper insights, even predicting brain health issues before symptoms arise.
“Heart rate complexity is a hallmark of healthy physiology,” explains biomedical engineer and computational physiologist Peng Li from Massachusetts General Hospital. “Our hearts must balance spontaneity and adaptability, integrating internal needs with external stressors.”
The study also found that conventional heart rate measures did not correlate with future cognitive decline, suggesting distribution entropy is more sensitive to subtle health changes.
Future research will focus on understanding the biological pathways underlying this link and investigating whether it relates to dementia onset as well as cognitive decline.
“Our findings highlight the usefulness of this noninvasive approach for assessing how flexibly the heart responds to nervous system signals,” says Chenlu Gao, lead author and sleep scientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “This method is promising for further studies on the connection between heart health and cognitive aging.”
Read the original article on: Science Alert
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