According to a study published in the journal JAMA Neurology, people who have had a heart attack are likely to have a significantly faster decline in cognition levels. The study showed that the decline in cognition after a heart attack was equivalent to about six to 13 years of cognitive aging.

A heart attack, also known as a myocardial infarction, is a medical emergency in which the hearts blood supply is abruptly and severely diminished or cut off, causing the muscle to die from a lack of oxygen.

Researchers assessed whether individuals who had heart attacks exhibited changes in cognition compared to others who were comparable to them in every way except they had not experienced a heart attack in a pooled study of six distinct major studies of adults conducted between 1971 and 2019. The researchers used a point system to assess participants global or general cognition over time.

The study included 30,465 individuals who had not had a heart attack or stroke and who did not have dementia at the time of the initial cognitive exam. Scores from many cognitive tests were merged to reflect one cognitive domain. A loss of points showed a deterioration in that cognitive domain.

Of the overall sample, 1,033 individuals went on to have at least one heart attack, and out of that, 137 had two heart attacks. Individuals who experienced heart attacks were more likely to be older and male. While the researchers did not uncover substantial cognitive deterioration in individuals who had their first heart attack, the participants cognitive assessments revealed a reduction in the years after the incident. 

(Source: https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/heart-attack-linked-with-cognitive-decline-over-years/100680271 )