I can't figure out how to find these, so useless.
13 Things Primary Care Clinics Can Check to Help Preserve Brain Health
Primary care clinics can play an important role in preserving patients’
brain health using the American Heart Association’s (AHAs) Life’s Simple
7 as a guide, as well as addressing 6 other factors associated with
cognitive decline, according to a new American Stroke
Association/American Heart Association Scientific Statement, published
in the journal Stroke.
Preserving brain health in an aging population is a growing concern in the United States. An estimated 1 in 5 Americans aged 65 years and older has mild cognitive impairment, and 1 in 7 has dementia. By 2050, the number of Americans with dementia is expected to triple, the statement authors note.
“Primary care is the right home for practice-based efforts to prevent or postpone cognitive decline,” said Ronald M. Lazar, PhD, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama. “Primary care professionals are most likely to identify and monitor risk factors early and throughout the lifespan. Prevention doesn’t start in older age -- it exists along the healthcare continuum from paediatrics to adulthood. The evidence in this statement demonstrates that early attention to these factors improves later life outcomes.”
Life’s Simple 7 focuses on 7 lifestyle targets to achieve ideal cardiovascular health: managing blood pressure, healthy cholesterol levels, reducing blood sugar, increasing physical activity, eating better, losing weight, and not smoking. The new statement suggests primary care professionals also consider assessing risk factors to address cognitive health. The 6 risk factors to consider, in addition to Life’s Simple 7, that impact optimal brain health are depression, social isolation, excessive alcohol use, sleep disorders, less education, and hearing loss. The statement lists risk factors for cognitive impairment, prevention strategies, and best practices to integrate brain health prevention into primary care.
“Scientists are learning more about how to prevent cognitive decline before changes to the brain have begun,” said Dr. Lazar. “We have compiled the latest research and found Life’s Simple 7 plus other factors like sleep, mental health and education are a more comprehensive lifestyle strategy that optimises brain health in addition to cardiovascular health.”
The statement uses cognition to define brain health, referring to the spectrum of intellectual-related activities, such as memory, thinking, reasoning, communication, and problem solving that enables people to thrive and navigate the world on an everyday basis. The ability to think, solve problems, remember, perceive, and communicate are crucial to successful living; their loss can lead to helplessness and dependency.
“Studies have shown that these domains are impacted by factors that are within our control to change,” said Dr. Lazar. “Prevention and mitigation are important, because once people have impaired cognition, the current treatment options are very limited.”
According to the statement:
● Recent data show that hypertension, diabetes, and smoking in adulthood and middle-life increase the odds of cognitive decline in middle-age and accelerate cognitive decline in older age.
● People with dementia experience lower quality of life, and caregivers -- typically family members -- experience high rates of psychological stress and physical ill-health.
● Primary care is the right place for practice-based efforts to prevent or postpone cognitive decline. This setting can provide comprehensive coordinated care to promote AHA’s Life’s Simple 7 as a guide for brain health and overall wellness.
● Professional guidelines also recommend routine screening for depression and counseling patients to focus on healthy eating and exercising a minimum of 150 minutes a week.
● Implementation of practices to prevent cognitive decline often fall short; however, new practices and technology like telehealth, which are more common as a result of the current pandemic, are addressing this gap.
“Many people think of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and other risk factors as affecting only heart health, yet these very same risk factors affect our brain health,” said Dr. Lazar. “Patients might be more likely to pay attention to the importance of addressing modifiable risk factors if they understood the links. I’ve given lectures, and what people tell me is that the one thing they do not want to lose during the course of their lives is their mind.”
Reference: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/STR.0000000000000367
SOURCE: American Heart Association
Preserving brain health in an aging population is a growing concern in the United States. An estimated 1 in 5 Americans aged 65 years and older has mild cognitive impairment, and 1 in 7 has dementia. By 2050, the number of Americans with dementia is expected to triple, the statement authors note.
“Primary care is the right home for practice-based efforts to prevent or postpone cognitive decline,” said Ronald M. Lazar, PhD, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama. “Primary care professionals are most likely to identify and monitor risk factors early and throughout the lifespan. Prevention doesn’t start in older age -- it exists along the healthcare continuum from paediatrics to adulthood. The evidence in this statement demonstrates that early attention to these factors improves later life outcomes.”
Life’s Simple 7 focuses on 7 lifestyle targets to achieve ideal cardiovascular health: managing blood pressure, healthy cholesterol levels, reducing blood sugar, increasing physical activity, eating better, losing weight, and not smoking. The new statement suggests primary care professionals also consider assessing risk factors to address cognitive health. The 6 risk factors to consider, in addition to Life’s Simple 7, that impact optimal brain health are depression, social isolation, excessive alcohol use, sleep disorders, less education, and hearing loss. The statement lists risk factors for cognitive impairment, prevention strategies, and best practices to integrate brain health prevention into primary care.
“Scientists are learning more about how to prevent cognitive decline before changes to the brain have begun,” said Dr. Lazar. “We have compiled the latest research and found Life’s Simple 7 plus other factors like sleep, mental health and education are a more comprehensive lifestyle strategy that optimises brain health in addition to cardiovascular health.”
The statement uses cognition to define brain health, referring to the spectrum of intellectual-related activities, such as memory, thinking, reasoning, communication, and problem solving that enables people to thrive and navigate the world on an everyday basis. The ability to think, solve problems, remember, perceive, and communicate are crucial to successful living; their loss can lead to helplessness and dependency.
“Studies have shown that these domains are impacted by factors that are within our control to change,” said Dr. Lazar. “Prevention and mitigation are important, because once people have impaired cognition, the current treatment options are very limited.”
According to the statement:
● Recent data show that hypertension, diabetes, and smoking in adulthood and middle-life increase the odds of cognitive decline in middle-age and accelerate cognitive decline in older age.
● People with dementia experience lower quality of life, and caregivers -- typically family members -- experience high rates of psychological stress and physical ill-health.
● Primary care is the right place for practice-based efforts to prevent or postpone cognitive decline. This setting can provide comprehensive coordinated care to promote AHA’s Life’s Simple 7 as a guide for brain health and overall wellness.
● Professional guidelines also recommend routine screening for depression and counseling patients to focus on healthy eating and exercising a minimum of 150 minutes a week.
● Implementation of practices to prevent cognitive decline often fall short; however, new practices and technology like telehealth, which are more common as a result of the current pandemic, are addressing this gap.
“Many people think of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and other risk factors as affecting only heart health, yet these very same risk factors affect our brain health,” said Dr. Lazar. “Patients might be more likely to pay attention to the importance of addressing modifiable risk factors if they understood the links. I’ve given lectures, and what people tell me is that the one thing they do not want to lose during the course of their lives is their mind.”
Reference: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/STR.0000000000000367
SOURCE: American Heart Association
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