Associations between left ventricular structure, function, and cerebral amyloid the ARIC-PET study

Abstract

Background and Purpose-Cardiovascular disease is a known risk factor for cognitive decline, although the mechanismsremain unclear. We hypothesize that Aß (ß-amyloid), a core pathology of Alzheimer's disease, will be associated withsubclinical 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 associationsbetween echo markers of left ventricular structure and function and global cortical Aß (=1.2 standardized uptake valueratio 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-diastolicleft 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 elevatedflorbetapir standardized uptake value ratio, identified using positron emission tomography. Ongoing prospective workwill help determine if changes in cardiac structure and function either precede, or occur simultaneously with depositionof amyloid.