Heart Disease, Type 2 Diabetes May Be Linked to Lack of Blood Flow to Brain

Metabolic syndrome, the combination of risk factors that often lead to heart disease and type 2 diabetes, may be linked to lower blood flow to the brain, according to new research from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

Study participants with multiple risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome — including abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and high cholesterol — averaged 15 percent less blood flow to the brain than those in a control group, based on the results of brain scans used to measure cerebral blood flow, says Barbara Bendlin, PhD, a researcher for the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and an assistant professor of medicine (geriatrics) at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. For more information, click here to read the full release