cardiovascular-agents and Memory-Disorders

Heart disease is the number one killer of women, and studies have shown connections between cardiovascular and oral health. However, interprofessional community-based participatory initiatives promoting women's oral health have received little research attention. This study evaluated the effectiveness of personalized oral health education (POHE) during a free one-day interprofessional women's health promotion event. The objectives were to 1) assess the participants' knowledge about the connection between oral health and heart disease; 2) disseminate information about oral-systemic linkages; 3) encourage comprehensive dental examinations; and 4) evaluate POHE outcomes. West Virginia University School of Dentistry faculty and students delivered POHE to the participants. These POHE instructors were calibrated with a standardized script regarding periodontal disease, health impact of tobacco, xerostomia-inducing medications, and oral hygiene instruction. Immediately prior to and following each POHE session, all the participants (N=165; 100 percent response rate) completed a number-coded questionnaire. The findings showed that the participants' knowledge of oral-systemic health linkages had increased following the POHE. The respondents received oral health kits and were offered discount vouchers toward the cost of a comprehensive oral examination at the dental school. This replicable model may prove useful to other dental schools in promoting women's oral health.

Topics: Aged; Attitude to Health; Bacteremia; Cardiovascular Agents; Dental Care; Female; Health Education, Dental; Health Fairs; Health Promotion; Heart Diseases; Humans; Information Dissemination; Memory Disorders; Middle Aged; Oral Health; Oral Hygiene; Periodontal Diseases; Precision Medicine; Stroke; Tobacco Products; Women's Health; Wound Healing; Xerostomia

Hypertension is the most common comorbidity among heart failure (HF) patients and has been independently linked with cognitive impairment. Cognitive impairment is prevalent among HF patients, though the extent to which hypertension contributes to cognitive function in this population is unclear.. 116 HF patients (31.0% women, 67.68 ± 11.16 years) completed neuropsychological testing and impedance cardiography. History of physician diagnosed hypertension, along with other medical characteristics, was ascertained through a review of participants' medical charts.. 69.8% of the HF patients had a diagnostic history of hypertension. After adjustment for demographic and medical characteristics (i.e., cardiac index, medication status, and resting blood pressure), hypertension was independently associated with attention/executive function/psychomotor speed (ΔF(1,103)=10.85, ΔR(2)=.07, p<.01) and motor functioning (ΔF(1,103)=4.46, ΔR(2)=.04, p<.05). HF patients with a diagnosed history of hypertension performed worse in these domains than those without such history.. The current findings indicate that diagnostic history of hypertension is an important contributor to cognitive impairment in HF. Hypertension frequently precedes HF and future studies should examine whether sustained hypertension compromises cerebral autoregulatory mechanisms to produce brain damage and exacerbate cognitive impairment in this population.

Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Attention; Cardiac Output; Cardiovascular Agents; Causality; Cognition Disorders; Comorbidity; Diabetes Mellitus; Executive Function; Female; Heart Failure; Humans; Hypertension; Language Disorders; Male; Memory Disorders; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Psychomotor Performance; Time Factors