People with diabetes and cognitive decline may be at higher risk for heart disease

"Our study found low scores on cognitive tests predicted heart disease in people with diabetes and other heart risk factors," said co-author Hertzel C. Gerstein, M.D., of McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. "Although the explanation for this remains unclear, proven heart medications should be offered to these patients to reduce their future risk of a heart attack or stroke."

The researchers assessed the relationship between cognitive function and future cardiovascular events in 8,772 people with type 2 diabetes from the REWIND trial during more than five years of follow up. They found that people with the lowest level of cognitive function had a higher risk of heart attack and stroke than those with higher levels of cognitive function.

People with severe cognitive impairment were up to 1.6 times more likely to experience major adverse cardiovascular events, and 1.8 times more likely to experience a stroke or die compared to people without cognitive impairment. These findings suggest cognitive function could predict a person's future risk of heart disease.