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September 2026
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More than 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and that number is expected to rise as the population ages. On the “Mayo Clinic Aging Forward” podcast, Dr. Heather Snyder of the Alzheimer’s Association talks about the latest advances in Alzheimer’s science, what we know about prevention and how we can take steps toward better brain health. Find us online at Mayo Clinic Press for more health and wellness articles, podcasts and books. Do you have feedback, questions or topic suggestions? Email us at mcppodcasts@mayo.edu.
Heart problems may be linked to brain shrinkage:
Heart health appears to affect brain health among people with a genetic risk for Alzheimer’s, according to study results published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia®: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. Researchers said people whose hearts are pumping blood less effectively tend to have brains that are shrinking faster. Building brain-healthy habits can help you live better now and protect your memory and thinking for the future.
This is true among people who carry APOE-ε4, a genetic variant that is known to increase risk of Alzheimer’s, researchers said.
“Our findings suggest that even subtle reductions in cardiac function may have important implications for brain health, particularly among individuals at increased genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease,” lead researcher Dr. Elizabeth Moore said in a news release. She’s a clinical fellow in neurology at Mass General Brigham in Boston.
For the new study, researchers tracked more than 750 people with an average age of 67 over an 11-year period. Of these patients, nearly 270 carried the APOE-ε4 gene variant.
At the start of the study, patients had their heart health assessed. That included their cardiac output — the amount of blood the heart is pumping out.
MRI scans showed that those APOE-ε4 patients with lower cardiac output experienced accelerated shrinking of their brains.