Cognitive outcome and therapeutic interventions for coronary artery disease. [ 2007 - 2010 ]

Research Grant

Researchers: Prof David Scott (Principal investigator) ,  A/Pr Brendan Silbert ,  Prof David Ames ,  Prof Konrad Jamrozik

Brief description Dementia is recognized as an increasingly important factor affecting quality of life as people age. Deaths from heart disease are declining, in part due to improved surgical techniques and to the use of less invasive methods to keep arteries open such as coronary stenting. It is now well known that 20 to 60% of patients experience some degree of impairment in thinking ability (cognitive impairment) after cardiac surgery, that this will persist in some of these individuals for years and may increase the risk of long-term problems. Cognitive impairment affects people in many ways. While it is not yet known whether the occurrence of cognitive impairment predisposes to dementia, it is thought that Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) may do so. We propose to explore the link between MCI and Post Procedural Cognitive Deficit (PPCD) in patients with coronary disease from before the first point of objective diagnosis, i.e. prior to the coronary angiogram, and over a 12-month period, through and subsequent to further treatment interventions such as stenting or cardiac surgery. Our Pilot data suggest that PPCD does indeed occur after angiography, and we propose to identify how long this lasts, whether MCI predisposes to it and whether it is better to wait until it resolves before further interventions are undertaken. In this way we hope to identify the safest treatment strategy for patients with coronary disease that will minimize the occurrence of Cognitive Deficit and possibly longer-term cognitive changes after investigation and treatment for their symptoms.

Funding Amount $AUD 392,104.98

Funding Scheme NHMRC Strategic Awards

Notes Dementia Research Grants Program