A recent
systematic review and meta-analysis concluded that, following open heart
surgery, a person's cognitive ability might be reduced — at least in the
short-term.
Almost 8 million people in the United States undergo
cardiovascular surgery or other related procedures each year.
Thanks to the steady improvements made by medical science, the
procedures are becoming ever safer and can give people a new lease of life.
Aware of improvements in physical health due to cardiovascular
surgery, scientists know less about the cognitive impact of open heart surgery.
A recent study set out to understand precisely how heart surgery
might influence the mind. In particular, the researchers were interested in
heart valve surgery.
Previous studies have looked at cognitive decline following some
types of heart operation, but scientists know little about the impact on this
particular group of surgical patients.
Valve surgery and the mind
Each year in the U.S., around 150,000 heart valve surgeries take
place. In most cases, surgeons operate to treat aortic stenosis. This is a
condition where the aortic valve becomes narrowed, partially blocking blood
flow from the heart to the rest of the body.
Generally, aortic stenosis occurs in people aged 65 or older.
Because of the aging population, the number of cases of aortic stenosis is
predicted to increase significantly over the coming decades.
As people age, their cognitive ability tends to decline, so
understanding how heart surgery might further impact cognitive ability is
crucial.
To investigate, the researchers pooled data from 12 existing
studies. They assessed the cognitive performance of all the participants before
and after surgery. In this analysis, the scientists also compared the effects
of two types of valve surgery — aortic and mitral. Their findings were
published recently in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
The authors found that in the first month
after surgery, there was a decline in cognitive ability. However, they also
showed that by 6 months post-surgery, a person's thinking abilities had almost
returned to normal.
In fact, some of the studies analyzed for the review suggested
that cognitive ability was slightly improved 6 months after surgery, compared
with before surgery.
The analysis also showed that the patients' cognitive
performance responded differently depending on the type of surgery they had.
Those who had surgery on the aortic valve saw more significant cognitive
deficits in the first month following surgery, while those who had mitral valve
surgery experienced a less significant cognitive decline.
Over the following 6 months, however, the difference in deficits
steadily disappeared as the cognitive abilities of those who underwent aortic
valve procedures caught up.
However, this difference might not have been due to the
procedures themselves. It is possible that the differences were due to age —
individuals who underwent aortic valve procedures were, on average, 9 years
older than those who had mitral valve procedures.
Source: Medical News Today
The website is looking bit flashy and it catches the visitors eyes. Design is pretty simple and a good user friendly interface. best cardiac hospital in Hyderabad
ReplyDeleteMy husband was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's disease at 57.his symptoms were shuffling of feet,slurred speech, low volume speech, degradation of hand writing, horrible driving skills, right arm held at 45 degree angle, things were tough for me, but now he finally free from the disease with the help of total cure ultimate health home, he now walks properly and all symptoms has reversed, he had trouble with balance especially at night, getting into the shower and exiting it is difficult,getting into bed is also another thing he finds impossible.we had to find a better solution for his condition which has really helped him a lot,the biggest helped we had was ultimatehealthhome they walked us through the proper steps,am highly recommended this ultimatehealthhome@gmail.com to anyone who needs help.
ReplyDelete