Cognitive Impairment in Chronic Heart Failure: Comparative Assessment and Correlation with Disease Severity Using Validated Neuropsychological Screening Tools – An Observational Study

Abstract

Cognitive impairment (CI) is common among the heart failure patients and is a language of poor prognosis. This paper evaluated the incidence and the level of cognitive impairment in patients with chronic heart failure and compared appropriate validated screening tools to test its ability in detecting the condition early. It was a cross-sectional observational study conducted on 70 patients with heart failure that had reduced or moderately preserved ejection fraction after 6 months. Anthropometric data, demographic data, echocardiography, and NT-pro BNP data were measured. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) were used to assess cognitive functioning. The incidence of cognitive impairment was also related to the severity of cardiac disease (NYHA class, ejection fraction, NT-pro BNP levels) and clinical results (drug non-compliance, hospital readmissions). Both instruments have shown a considerable correlation with the severity of the disease (p<0.05). Reduced ejection fraction and high levels of NT-pro BNP in patients indicated higher levels of cognitive deficits. Risk stratification and prognostication in heart failure populations are having validated tools that should be applied to implement early cognitive screening.