Prevalence of Systolic Heart Failure in Patients with Dementia in Saudi Arabia: Single-center retrospective data review

Abstract

Background: Dementia is one of the most common neurological diagnoses in older patients. Previous reports have proposed that heart failure could be a risk factor for dementia. Other studies have suggested that cardiovascular function could have a critical role in the pathogenesis of dementia. Aim: This study aimed to identify the prevalence of heart failure in patients diagnosed with dementia. Method: This was a chart review of medical records of patients followed at King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital and diagnosed with dementia with at least one echocardiogram completed after the diagnosis of dementia. Demographic variations and comorbidities of these patients were collected. Result: A total of 200 patients met the inclusion criteria, with a mean age of 76.28 years. In 10.5% of the participants, the ejection fraction was less than 40%. The dominant type of dementia in the participants was mixed/unspecified type (78.5%). Conclusion: The prevalence of systolic heart failure seems to be higher in patients with dementia when compared to similar age group populations reported in other studies. Multiple limitations are present in this study, and additional research is needed to further assess this possible correlation. Key words: Systolic heart failure, dementia, Saudi Arabia