Abstract 11737: Higher Frequency of Ventricular Ectopy is Associated With Incident Dementia in Older Adults Without Atrial Fibrillation: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Abstract

Introduction: Excessive ventricular ectopy (VE) is a risk factor for stroke. It is unclear whether higher frequency of VE is associated with the risk of dementia. Hypothesis: Higher frequency of VE, including ventricular tachycardias (VT) and premature ventricular contractions (PVC), are associated with a higher risk of dementia. Methods: We included 2167 participants without adjudicated dementia, stroke or atrial fibrillation (mean age, 79 years, 60% female, 26% Black). We measured burden of VT and PVC over 2 weeks at baseline (2016-17) with Zio XT patch: an ambulatory ECG recorder (iRhythm Technologies, Inc.). We quantified PVC burden as: 1) natural log of frequency in episodes/day (due to skewed distribution) and 2) dichotomously, split at the median level of frequency. We quantified VT burden as: 1) presence of any VT, 2) frequency of VT (episodes/day) split at the median, and 3) duration of the longest VT episode split at the median, using ‘no VT’ group as the referent in each case. We adjudicated dementia events through 2019 using cognitive testing at study visits, telephone cognitive interviews, and medical records. We calculated relative risk of incident dementia by Poisson regression with robust error variance. Results: At baseline, PVC and VT were present in 99% and 27% of participants, respectively. Over 2 years of follow-up, 66 (3.0%) participants developed dementia. Higher frequency of PVCs and VTs (≥ median vs none), and longer duration of the longest VT episode (≥ median vs none) were associated with a higher risk of dementia independent of cardiovascular (CV) disease and risk factors (Table). These associations were attenuated after adjusting for incident stroke. Conclusions: In older adults, higher VE frequency is associated with a higher dementia risk independent of CV risk factors. Our novel findings broaden the scope of “vascular contribution to cognitive impairment and dementia” to include ventricular arrhythmias as novel risk factors for dementia.