Associations Between Left Ventricular Structure, Function, and Cerebral Amyloid

Background and Purpose- Cardiovascular disease is a known risk factor for cognitive decline, although the mechanisms remain unclear. We hypothesize that Aβ (β-amyloid), a core pathology of Alzheimer's disease, will be associated with subclinical cardiac structure and function echocardiogram indices. Methods- Three hundred six nondemented participants from the ARIC study (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study) underwent florbetapir positron emission tomography and 2D echocardiography (echo). Cross-sectional associations between echo markers of left ventricular structure and function and global cortical Aβ (≥1.2 standardized uptake value ratio were evaluated using multivariable logistic regression with interaction terms when appropriate. Results- Participants ranged in age from 67 to 88 years, were 57% female and 42% black. Per 1 cm increase in end-diastolic left ventricular diameter, the odds of elevated florbetapir standardized uptake value ratio doubled (odds ratio, 2.04 [95% CI, 1.10-3.77]), with similar findings when excluding mild cognitive impairment (odds ratio, 2.61 [95% CI, 1.22-5.59]). Conclusions- We have demonstrated a significant association between a marker of left ventricular structure and elevated florbetapir standardized uptake value ratio, identified using positron emission tomography. Ongoing prospective work will help determine if changes in cardiac structure and function either precede, or occur simultaneously with deposition of amyloid.