Elevated heart rate linked to increased risk of dementia — ScienceDaily

Having an elevated resting heart rate in old age may be an independent risk factor of dementia, according to a study at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. Since resting heart rate is easy to measure and can be lowered through exercise or medical treatment, the researchers believe that it may help to identify people with higher dementia risk for early intervention.

The number of people living with dementia is expected to increase to 139 million globally by 2050, from 55 million in 2020, according to the organisation Alzheimer’s Disease International. Currently, there is no cure for dementia, but growing evidence suggests that maintaining a healthy lifestyle and cardiovascular health could help delay the onset of dementia and ease symptoms.

In this study, the researchers examined if resting heart…

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