Cardiovascular disease and neurocognition in the elderly

描述(由申请人提供)：研究表明，与健康老年人相比，心血管疾病患者在信息处理速度、精神运动速度和学习方面存在显著障碍。这种损害具有临床意义，因为众所周知，认知会影响老年人的功能能力。这项建议的目的是检查心功能(即射血分数)、IADL和注意力/警觉性、执行功能、精神运动速度和学习测试中的表现之间的联系。这些认知功能的损害是假设的，因为心血管疾病预计会对额叶-皮质下系统介导的认知成分产生最大影响。这项研究的目的是(1)证明心脏功能受损与认知损害之间的联系，(2)证明心脏功能受损的患者的功能活动受到损害，以及(3)证明心脏患者的功能损害受到认知障碍(如执行功能)的影响。对射血分数的彻底检查可能会阐明没有接受过心脏手术的患者的心脏损害和认知之间的关系，并为这些患者的治疗和康复计划提供信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Research has demonstrated significant impairments in information processing speed, psychomotor speed and learning among individuals with cardiovascular disease compared to healthy elderly. Such impairments have clinical significance, as cognition is known to influence the functional abilities of the elderly. The purpose of this proposal is to examine the link between cardiac function (i.e., ejection fraction), IADLs, and performance on tests of attention/ vigilance, executive functioning, psychomotor speed, and learning. Impairments of these cognitive functions are hypothesized, as cardiovascular disease is expected to exert greatest influence on cognitive components mediated by frontal-subcortical systems. This study aims to (1) demonstrate an association between impaired cardiac functioning and cognitive impairment, (2) demonstrate that functional activities are compromised in patients with impaired cardiac functioning, and (3) demonstrate that functional impairments among cardiac patients are influenced by cognitive impairments such as executive functioning. A thorough examination of ejection fraction may elucidate the relationship between cardiac compromise and cognition among patients who have not undergone prior cardiac surgery and inform treatment and rehabilitation programs for these patients.