The study, published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, showed that individuals with a resting heart rate of 80 beats per minute or higher on average had a 55 per cent higher risk of dementia than those with a heart rate of 60-69 beats per minute.

The study cannot establish a causal relationship, the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, reported.

However, specialists provided several plausible explanations for the association such as “the effect of underlying cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular risk factors, stiffness of arteries, and the imbalance between sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous activities.”

Experts recommend closely monitoring the cognitive function of patients to delay the onset of dementia in time, which would be positive for people´s quality of life.

According to Alzheimer’s Disease International, the number of people with dementia is expected to increase to 139 million worldwide by 2050, up from 55 million in 2020.

There is no cure for dementia, but there is evidence to suggest that keeping a healthy lifestyle and cardiovascular health may help delay its onset and relieve symptoms. mh/pll/jha/joe