Clinical Study Reduced Heart Rate Recovery Is Associated with Poorer Cognitive Function in Older Adults with Cardiovascular Disease

License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) in older adults has been associated with varying degrees of cognitive dysfunction. Several mecha-nisms may explain this association, including impaired cardiovascular reactivity to autonomic nervous system (ANS) signaling. Reduced heart rate recovery following a stress test may be considered an indication of impaired ANS function (i.e., reduced parasympathetic activity). Participants were 47 older adults (53–83 years) who underwent a treadmill stress test and were administered a comprehensive neuropsychological battery upon entry to phase II cardiac rehabilitation. Reduced parasympathetic activity was associated with impaired cognitive performance on a measure of global cognitive function and on tasks of speeded executive function and confrontation naming. These relationships suggest that changes in autonomic function may be mecha-nistically related to the impaired cognitive function prevalent in CVD patients. 1