Cognitive impairment among elderly coronary heart disease patients

Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) and decline in cognitive functioni ng and dementia are common problems in the elderly. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are connected with vascular dementia, but less is known about cogni tive functioning among elderly patients with CHD based on population studie s. Objective:To describe the associations between CHD and cognitive impairm ent among the elderly. Population and Methods: Of the total population of t he Lieto study (488 community-dwelling men and 708 women, greater than or e qual to 64 years old), the ambulatory patients With CHD (89 men and 73 wome n) and sex- and age-matched controls without any sign of CHD (178 men and 1 46 women) were selected to make up the study population. CHD was defined as the presence of angina pectoris or a past myocardial infarction. Cognitive assessment was based on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Results: The total MMSE scores, the MMSE subtest scores a nd the overall test-based cognitive functioning did not differ between patients and controls. Among men, higher MMSE subscores in orientation and language were related to more severe chest pain, According to logistic regression analyses, the cognitiv e impairment of men was associated with high age, the use of cardiac glycos ides and physical disability. Among women, cognitive impairment was associa ted with high age and the use of antipsychotics. Conclusion: In general, CH D has no independent association with cognitive impairment among the non-in stitutionalized community-living elderly. Among men, however, a complicated CHD may negatively affect cognitive functioning.