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Assessment of cognitive function in elderly patients with heart failure
Leandro Marques da Silva1, Carla Priscilla Belchior Marques Sampaio2, Nair Eloá Dos Santos Guimarães3
1Universidade Federal do Maranhão, Doctoral Program in Health Sciences - São Luís (MA), Brazil.
Insights
The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) better identified cognitive deficits in elderly heart failure patients compared to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). This study highlights MMSE
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Cardiology
- Neurology
Background:
- Heart failure (HF) is a prevalent condition in the elderly population.
- Cognitive deficits (CD) are common comorbidities in patients with HF.
- Accurate identification of CD is crucial for managing elderly HF patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the efficacy of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in detecting cognitive deficits (CD) among elderly patients diagnosed with heart failure (HF).
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional, observational study was conducted with 43 elderly HF patients.
- Participants were assessed using a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire.
- Neurocognitive function was evaluated using both the MMSE and MoCA tests.
Main Results:
- The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) identified cognitive deficits in 25.58% of patients.
- The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) identified cognitive deficits in 23.26% of patients.
- The difference in detection rates between MMSE and MoCA was statistically significant (p=0.043).
Conclusions:
- The MMSE demonstrated superior performance over the MoCA in identifying cognitive deficits in this cohort of elderly heart failure patients.
- These findings suggest that the MMSE may be a more effective screening tool for cognitive impairment in this specific population.
Objective:
To compare the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) tests for the identification of cognitive deficit (CD) in elderly patients with heart failure (HF).
Methods:
This was a cross-sectional study with an observational design involving 43 elderly patients with HF of both sexes, treated by the Unified Health System, who were able to understand and follow the study instructions. A sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire and the MMSE and MoCA neurocognitive tests were applied.
Results:
The mean age of the patients was 67 years; 67.44% were male; 53.49% were white; 58.14% had 1-4 years of schooling; 58.14% had an income of half to one minimum wage; 55.81% were married; 53.49% had a family history of HF; 90.7% denied smoking; 83.72% denied alcohol intake; 65.12% did not practice physical activity; 83.72% were hypertensive; 30.23% were diabetic; 57.89% had LVEF ≥ 50%; 39.53% have NYHA II; and 88.37% did not have a pacemaker. In the identification of CD, the MMSE test detected it in 25.58% of the patients, while the MoCA test identified it in 23.26% (p=0.043).
Conclusion:
It was concluded that the MMSE test performed better than the MoCA test in the identification of CD in elderly patients with HF.
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