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Updated: Jan 17, 2026
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Estimating Bilateral Atrial Function by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: July 20, 2022
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COGNITIVE FUNCTION EVALUATION IN PATIENTS WITH NEWLY DIAGNOSED PAROXYSMAL ATRIAL FIBRILLATION
Olga Germanova1, Yulia Reshetnikova1, Daria Popova2
1International Centre for Education and Research in Cardiovascular Pathology and Cardiovisualization, Samara State Medical University, Samara, Russia.
Psychiatria Danubina
|September 22, 2025
Summary
Newly diagnosed paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) patients often have mild cognitive impairment. Increased left ventricular mass is linked to worse cognitive function in these patients, suggesting a connection between heart structure and brain health.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Neurology
- Medical Diagnostics
Background:
- Newly diagnosed paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) presents a potential risk for cognitive impairment.
- Evaluating cognitive function is crucial for understanding the broader impact of AF.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the cognitive function in patients recently diagnosed with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.
- To explore correlations between cognitive performance and cardiovascular parameters in this cohort.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study involving 6630 patients undergoing 24-hour ECG monitoring.
- 14 paroxysmal AF patients completed additional ECG monitoring, echocardiography, sphygmography, and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).
Main Results:
- 64% of AF patients (9 out of 14) exhibited mild cognitive impairment (median MoCA score: 24).
- Executive-functional skills showed the most significant impairment.
- A strong negative correlation was found between MoCA scores and left ventricular (LV) indexed mass (rs = -0.737, p = 0.003).
Conclusions:
- Mild cognitive impairment is prevalent in patients with newly diagnosed, asymptomatic paroxysmal AF.
- Increased LV-indexed mass is significantly associated with poorer cognitive function in AF patients.
- Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms linking myocardial remodeling in AF to impaired brain function.
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