The Heart and Brain Connection: How Protecting Your Heart Protects Your Memory
Your brain weighs about three pounds, yet it uses about 20% of your blood supply. It's fed by a network of tiny blood vessels, many of them thinner than a strand of hair. When high blood pressure, high blood sugar or inflammation damage those vessels over time, the first signs are usually subtle. Brain fog. A word stuck on the tip of your tongue. Thinking that feels a little slower than it used to.
In our October Brain Boost, timed with World Stroke Day on October 29, we talked about why the heart and the brain share the same enemies and the same allies, and why caring for one protects the other.
Why stroke and memory are connected
In my 30 years as a nurse I cared for many stroke patients, and I saw how much a stroke can take from a person and their family. Up to 80% of strokes are preventable through lifestyle. A stroke is the loud version of something that often builds for years. That slower damage to the brain's blood vessels is called vascular cognitive impairment, and vascular dementia is the second most common cause of dementia after Alzheimer's.
Know the warning signs of a stroke. Watch for a loss of balance, blurry vision, drooping on one side of the face, weakness in one arm and slurred speech. If any of these come on suddenly, call 911 right away. Those first few hours matter.
The same risks and the same allies
High blood pressure is the biggest risk for both your heart and your brain. High blood sugar, cholesterol, inflammation, smoking, broken sleep, chronic stress, carrying weight around the middle and sitting for long hours are all on the list too. Most of us sit far more than we realize, at meals, in the car, in meetings and on the couch at night.
The good news is that what helps your heart helps your brain. That means moving your body, knowing your numbers, getting good sleep, staying connected to people you love and eating the MIND diet way. MIND is an anti-inflammatory, Mediterranean-style way of eating built around leafy greens, extra virgin olive oil, walnuts, wild salmon and berries. Even a few minutes of box breathing and gratitude each day helps lower cortisol and inflammation, and thanks to neuroplasticity, practicing them again and again rewires your brain over time.
Build your base camp
There is no magic pill. I teach my clients to build their base camp first: nutrition, movement, sleep, stress care and knowing their numbers. When that foundation is solid, everything you add on top works better, and your body is more resilient when you need it most.
Where to start
You don't need to fix everything at once. If you do one thing this week, find out your blood pressure numbers. The replay also walks you through a ten-question heart and brain self-check you can score privately at home, so you can see where to begin.
Your brain needs healthy fats too. Learn which ones matter most in Healthy Fats for Brain Health, from our September Brain Boost.
Watch the replay
Watch the October Brain Boost replay
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Join me live
Brain Boost is my free, 30-minute virtual session held the first Wednesday of every month at 10:00 a.m. ET. Our next session is Wednesday, November 4, on strength and the brain. Sign up for the next free Brain Boost.
If you'd like to talk one on one about where to start, book a free strategy session.
