Following up on @VeeEnn’s hypothesis that pre-diabetes causes damage long before diabetes is diagnosed…
A recent study shows that even small, undiagnosed heart problems are correlated to higher risk of dementia as shown by brain MRI of middle-aged people.
https://www.jneurosci.org/content/early/2026/06/24/JNEUROSCI.2274-25.2026
Even the smallest heart issues may raise dementia risk, new study finds
For this study, researchers tracked 73 participants from the Leipzig Heart Study for about 3.5 years. Study participants had an average age of about 55, and included both people with diagnosed heart failure and those without a heart failure diagnosis, but suspected coronary artery disease. …
“Previous studies have shown that people with heart failure often have a higher risk of cognitive problems. But we wanted to ask an earlier question: Does the heart–brain link begin before obvious clinical heart failure, and before obvious brain shrinkage is detectable on conventional structural imaging? That is why we focused on gray matter microstructure, which may capture more subtle tissue-level changes.”…
At the study’s conclusion, researchers found that even minor cardiac dysfunction, such as that found in study participants without fully diagnosed heart failure, could predict the formation of microscopic tissue degradation in the brain regions closely linked to Alzheimer’s disease. … [end quote]
This was a small study with youngish participants and they weren’t followed for very long. The study didn’t test for amyloid or tau so maybe the problem was vascular and not Alzheimer’s disease. But they did find a signal.
The point is that even early heart problems can lead to damage in the brain.
Regular checkups, controlling blood pressure, managing cholesterol and diabetes, exercising, eating a heart-healthy diet, treating sleep apnea, avoiding smoking, and limiting alcohol are all important not only for preventing heart attacks and heart failure, but also for supporting healthy brain aging.
@VeeEnn is right. Damage starts younger than doctors currently understand.
Both heart and brain deterioration affect huge swathes of the population. Treatment is expensive and has a Macroeconomic impact.
Wendy