Abstract #0385

Cardiac disease may exacerbate age-related white matter disruptions: improvements are feasible after cardiac rehabilitation

Stefan E. Poirier^1,2, Neville Suskin³, Keith S. St. Lawrence^1,2, J. Kevin Shoemaker⁴, and Udunna C. Anazodo^1,2,5,6

¹Lawson Imaging, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON, Canada, ²Medical Biophysics, Western University, London, ON, Canada, ³Cardiology, Western University, London, ON, Canada, ⁴School of Kinesiology, Western University, London, ON, Canada, ⁵Clinical Neurological Sciences, Western University, London, ON, Canada, ⁶Research Centre for Studies in Aging, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

White matter (WM) degeneration is associated with cognitive impairment in coronary artery disease (CAD). We used diffusion tensor imaging to assess WM integrity in brains of CAD patients before and after cardiac rehabilitation (CR) and in young and old healthy controls (HC). Widespread WM changes were observed between older and younger HC, while robust WM changes were observed in WM regions linked to cognition in CAD patients at baseline with improvements following CR. In CAD, disease manifestation and brain aging may contribute to changes in brain WM macrostructure with potential influence on cognition, and these may be quelled by CR.

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