Cognitive Alterations in Elderly Patients with Heart Failure’

• Autor(a) principal: Afiune,Fernanda Guedes
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Rassi,Salvador, Afiune Neto,Abrahão
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: International Journal of Cardiovascular Sciences (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2359-56472022000300364
• topic: Heart Failure; Neuropsychology; Cognition Disorders; Aged; Cardiovascular Diseases; Neurological Diseases; Anxiety; Depression; Stroke Volume

Abstract Background: Among the various pathologies that affect the elderly, Heart Failure (HF) stands out. Recently, an attempt has been made to verify the existence of cognitive impairment associated with HF. Objectives: To compare the cognitive performance of elderly people with heart failure with that of age-matched individuals without this pathology. Check the existence of marked impairment in some cognitive functions in the clinical group. Methods: The sample consisted of 78 elderly people, whose inclusion criterion was the presence of HF and no HF (control group); age over 60 years, both sexes, and any level of education. The control group consisted of 37 individuals (with a median age of 68 years – Interquartile range of 12) and the HF group, with 41 individuals (with a median age of 67 years – Interquartile range of 11). The subjects were matched in terms of education level, with a predominance of elderly people with 0 to 4 years of education (65.9% in the Clinical Group and 59.5% in the Control Group). Eleven neuropsychological tests covering cognitive functions were used: attention, language, memory, mood, and executive function. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software, version 23, with a significance level of 5%. The Chi-square test and the Mann-Whitney test were applied. Results: The results showed significant differences between the groups, mainly in executive functions, which include the ability to plan, switch, and recall previously stored information. Conclusion: Our study showed differences between the cognitive performance of elderly people with HF and elderly people without HF. The main alteration was found in the so-called executive functions, attention, and memory.