Measures of chronic heart failure as the markers of cognitive dysfunction in patients with coronary heart disease complicated by circulatory failure

Abstract

Objective: To study the relationship between the cerebral morpho-functional changes and left ventricular ejection fraction and functional class of chronic heart failure. Materials and methods: The cognitive tests, echocardiography, and brain nuclear magnetic resonance imaging were performed in 54 patients with class II–IV chronic heart failure of ischemic origin. Results: While the functional class of chronic heart failure is increased, lower Wechsler V and VII cognitive scores, thinner parietal gray matter, smaller hippocampal volume, lower diffusion coefficient of the water molecules in the parietal and occipital white matter, and lower middle cerebellar peduncle width are observed. The comparative analysis of the central nervous system parameters in patients with chronic heart failure with various left ventricular ejection fraction revealed no significant differences. Conclusion: The results confirm the significance of the chronic heart failure functional class to be as a marker of cognitive dysfunction and pathological changes both in gray and white matter, while left ventricular ejection fraction is clearly less useful.