Greater physical activity is associated with better cognitive function in heart failure.

Objective: Nearly 6 million Americans have heart failure (HF), up to 80% of which exhibit cognitive deficits on testing. Physical inactivity is common in HF, yet little is known about the possible contribution of physical inactivity to cognitive dysfunction in this population.

Method: Older adults with HF (N = 93; Mage = 68.5 years, 33.7% women) completed neuropsychological testing, as well as cardiac and physical activity assessment as part of a larger protocol. HF severity was measured via impedance cardiography. Physical activity was assessed via an Actigraph accelerometer and operationalized using daily step count and time engaged in moderate-vigorous activity (minutes/day).

Results: Linear regression analyses controlling for sex, high blood pressure, diabetes, depressive symptomatology, and HF severity showed that greater physical activity (both step count and minutes spent in moderate-vigorous activity) was associated with better executive function/attention, processing speed, and scores on a screening measure of cognition.

Conclusions: These findings indicate that physical activity is an independent predictor of cognitive function in persons with HF. Future work is needed to clarify the mechanisms by which physical activity benefits cognitive function in HF and determine whether interventions to promote physical activity can attenuate cognitive decline over time.