Train your heart to protect your mind

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-08/uom-tyh082214.php

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 24-Aug-2014

Contact: William Raillant-Clark
University of Montreal
Train your heart to protect your mind

New study links cardiovascular health to cognitive changes as we age

Exercising to improve our cardiovascular strength may protect us from cognitive impairment as we age, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Montreal and its affiliated Institut universitaire de gératrie de Montréal Research Centre. "Our body's arteries stiffen with age, and the vessel hardening is believed to begin in the aorta, the main vessel coming out of the heart, before reaching the brain. Indeed, the hardening may contribute to cognitive changes that occur during a similar time frame," explained Claudine Gauthier, first author of the study. "We found that older adults whose aortas were in a better condition and who had greater aerobic fitness performed better on a cognitive test. We therefore think that the preservation of vessel elasticity may be one of the mechanisms that enables exercise to slow cognitive aging."

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