One in three Americans will develop silent heart condition that leads to dementia… are YOU at risk?
A silent killer heart condition suffered by Joe Biden is rising across America, according to a new study.
Researchers found atrial fibrillation, a disorder where the heart beats irregularly, has roughly tripled in men and women since 1990.
They estimate one in three Americans will go on to suffer it at some point over the course of their lifetime which is a worry, given the condition’s links to dementia, strokes and heart attacks.
It can be caused by abnormalities in the heart structure, sleep apnea, other heart conditions or even thyroid disease. Doctors recommend that people with unexplained palpitations, chest pain and dizziness may want to get their heart checked, so that doctors can begin treating them before the condition becomes serious.
Those most at risk are people above age 65, smokers, people above 5 foot 7 inches tall, obese people, people with high blood pressure, people with diabetes and people with heart disease.
All these factors can have an influence on blood and how the body moves it.
Academics reviewed 108 studies from 1990 to 2024, and found that the amount of people with the disease seems to be increasing – with a 262 percent increase in men and a 244 percent increase in women.
That means about roughly 10.5million people currently live with the disease, and may not even know it, because about 10 to 40 percent of people with the condition experience no symptoms.
Singer and actress Miley Cyrus, 32, has atrial fibrillation, which is possibly a consequence of a condition she was born with called tachycardia. Tachycardia is a condition where the heart beats faster than normal, even when at rest
Atrial fibrillation is a condition where the top two chambers of the heart begin beating irregularly, interruption blood flow
If left untreated, atrial fibrillation raises the risk of stroke three times and is also associated with an increased risk of dementia.
Older studies have suggested this could be because atrial fibrillation could cause long term interruption to the brain’s blood supply, causing small but frequent damage to brain cells that could lead to the cell death seen in the memory-robbing disease.
Because it’s becoming more common and may be silent, doctors should be raising awareness about this disorder, study author Dr Emelia Benjamin, a cardiologist at Boston Medical Center, said.
Dr Benjamin said: ‘Given the increasing incidence, prevalence and lifetime risk of AF, it is imperative that we promote the most effective protocols to help reduce risk factors and prevent the onset, recurrence, and complications of AF in our patients.’
The researchers from Boston University included clinical trials, long-term studies, reviews and scientific guidelines in their paper, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
They looked at how the number of people with the disease has changed over time, what other conditions the disease may cause and what treatments work best.
They found that from 1990 to 2024, the number of men with the condition per 1000 people increased from 2.7 to 13.4.
In women, the number of people with the condition per 1000 people raised from 2.5 to 8.6 over the period.
Overall, the amount of men with the condition was higher than the amount of women.
This increase was the biggest in developed western countries like America, Australia and Western Europe.
The researchers said this suggests that the amount of people with the disease has been increasing, as a bigger number of people live to older ages, tools for screening for the condition get better and as it becomes possible for people with heart disorders to live longer, the researchers said.
President Joe Biden,82, reportedly suffers from this common condition
There are four chambers of the heart that have to work in harmony in order to pump blood throughout the body.
Atrial fibrillation occurs when the two upper chambers of the heart begin beating irregularly, interrupting regular blood flow and causing symptoms like labored breathing, chest pain and faintness.
But not everyone experiences symptoms.
This can mean that common problems that come with the condition, like high blood pressure, heart disease and obesity, may persist indefinitely, leading to problems down the line like stroke, dementia, kidney disease and death.
Atrial fibrillation increases the risk of someone developing a stroke – a serious interruption to blood flow to the brain which can cause massive cell damage or death.
People with the heart condition are three to five times more likely to develop stroke, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
Previous studies have linked a number of different blood flow problems to dementia, and researchers have suggested that frequent, small interruption of blood flow to the brain could be a key factor in the development of dementia, where cells slowly begin dying off over time.
Researchers from the University of Sydney said in 2022 that this condition could double the risk of dementia.
However, they note that consensus is out on how much this condition raises dementia risk, and more research is needed to definitively determine how much the heart problem raises risk of brain degeneration.
About 4 percent of people with atrial fibrillation have it severe enough to undergo catheter ablation. The procedure involves damaging specific regions of the heart that are diseased in order to get the whole muscle pumping better
Older research found a less strong link. A 2011 study of 3,045 older people in Seattle found that those who had been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation were 50 percent more likely to have an Alzheimer’s diagnosis than those without the heart condition.
Likewise, a large study from 2015 of over 600,000 people in Taiwan showed that atrial fibrillation increased risk of dementia by 42 percent.
Once someone is diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, doctors first recommend they make lifestyle changes – like increasing exercise, quitting smoking and taking blood pressure medication.
In severe cases, doctors might also recommend a surgery called catheter ablation. This involves targeting damaged areas of the heart, which may be causing the irregular heart beat, and destroying them with heat, cold or electricity.
In about 75 percent of cases, this resolves the problem, according to Harvard Health publishing.
The researchers emphasized that the earlier someone begins treating their disease, the better their outcomes are, and the less likely they are to develop other conditions like heart disease.
This includes using the more invasive procedures, like ablation.
Study author Dr Robert Helm, a clinical electrophysiologist at Boston Medical Center, said: ‘Consensus opinion is now moving in the direction of early intervention for AF to favorably influence outcomes. Technologic advances in catheter ablation have made this an attractive option for many patients’.
