If the heart pumps too little blood into the body, the brain is usually not adequately supplied with oxygen. Until now, however, it was unclear how this affects brain structure. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences together with colleagues from the Leipzig Heart Clinic, have now figured out that the grey matter also suffers from a weak heart.
Heart insufficiency has a negative impact on gray matter in the brain. Weak heart function was linked to decreased gray matter in areas of the brain associated with memory and learning, including the hippocampus and parietal medial cortex. This may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The scientists investigated the relationship between the grey matter and heart function of 80 patients at the Leipzig Heart Clinic with the help of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans. They examined the amount of blood that is ejected by each heart beat and the concentration of a certain hormone in the blood vessels that is known as a marker for heart insufficiency.
Read more at: https://neurosciencenews.com/heart-brain-15783/