Atrial Fibrillation (AF) Is Linked to Increased Alzheimer’s Risk

Alzheimer’s disease affects about 5.3 million Americans, and atrial fibrillation (AF) about 2.2 million. Some studies have shown that patients with AF are at a higher risk for experiencing vascular dementia, but, until now, there has been no link found between AF and Alzheimer’s. So a study presented at the US Heart Rhythm Society meeting this month has caused some interest.

Salt Lake City researchers reported results from a study of more than 37,000 Utah patients whose medical data were recorded in Intermountain Healthcare Hospitals. In the collective, 10,160 patients developed AF and 1,500 developed Alzheimer’s, over a 5-year period.

Those with AF were 44% more likely to develop dementia than those without. Below age 70, they were 130% more likely to develop Alzheimer’s, specifically. And those with both AF and dementia were 60% more likely to die during the study period than dementia patients without AF.

This link, if confirmed in other analyses, is important, because AF is a treatable condition. It will become important to see if early treatment of AF can prevent the development of dementia, or, more specifically, Alzheimer’s disease.