Heart Surgery Won't Cause Brain Decline

A study published in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery found major heart surgery does not cause significant memory decline in older adults, reports HealthDay News . The study included some 1,200 people who underwent heart surgery, while another 1,900 had cardiac catheterization. All subjects were 65 or older. "We expected to find a bigger difference in the surgery group, since there are many anecdotes about serious cognitive mental decline after heart surgery," says Elizabeth Whitlock with the University of California, San Francisco. She notes the outcomes "suggest that there isn't a major long-term impact when these two methods of correcting serious heart problems are compared. We think this is because severe heart disease itself probably has a cognitive impact." The implication is that the loss of memory and thinking skills in the weeks after surgery is likely transitory, and possibly caused by small strokes during surgery, tissue inflammation, or medication.