New research has discovered a link between poor heart health and memory issues, according to a report by the Daily Mail.
Researchers from the Vanderbilt University Medical Centre found an older person whose heart pumps less blood has restricted blood flow in the temporal lobe. It is the area where dementia begins.
They also found those participants who were not very active and showed poor heart health had brains 20 years older than their actual age.
Experts warn people need to exercise five times a week for 30 minutes to reduce their chances of developing dementia.
"We currently know a lot about how to prevent and medically manage many forms of heart disease, but we do not yet know how to prevent or treat Alzheimer's disease," lead author Dr Angela Jefferson, director of the Vanderbilt Memory & Alzheimer's Center told the Daily Mail.
Adding, "This research is especially important because it may help us leverage our knowledge about managing heart health to address and treat risk factors for memory loss in older adults before cognitive symptoms develop."
The study was originally published in Neurology.
