Lower cardiac output is associated with greater white matter hyperintensities in older adults with cardiovascular disease.
OBJECTIVE
To preliminarily examine the association between cardiac output, a measure of systemic blood flow, and structural brain magnetic resonance imaging indices of white matter hyperintensities (WMHs).


METHODS
Cross-sectional.


METHODS
University medical setting.


METHODS
Thirty-six older adults without dementia with prevalent cardiovascular disease (aged 56-85).


METHODS
Cardiac output, WMHs.


RESULTS
Partial correlations, adjusting for age and history of hypertension, yielded an inverse relationship between WMHs adjacent to subcortical nuclei and cardiac output (correlation coefficient=-0.48, P=.03); as cardiac output decreased, WMHs increased significantly. No significant associations were found between cardiac output and total WMHs or periventricular WMHs.


CONCLUSIONS
These preliminary data suggest that systemic blood flow, measured according to cardiac output, is inversely associated with WMHs adjacent to the subcortical nuclei. Cerebrovascular degeneration and the chronicity of hypoperfusion may exacerbate the susceptibility of white matter integrity to alterations in blood flow in older adults.
Jefferson
Angela L
AL
Department of Neurology, Alzheimer's Disease Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02118, USA. angelaj@bu.edu
Tate
David F
DF
Poppas
Athena
A
Brickman
Adam M
AM
Paul
Robert H
RH
Gunstad
John
J
Cohen
Ronald A
RA
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002302:Cardiac Output / Q000502:physiology*; D002303:Cardiac Output, Low / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002534:Hypoxia, Brain / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left / Q000502:physiology*