Heart disease that affects more than a million Brits - and Miley Cyrus - increases dementia risk by 68 per cent and doubles the chance of suffering stroke, experts warn By Chris Pollard Published: 11:34 BST, 5 June 2024 | Updated: 11:40 BST, 5 June 2024 e-mail 4 View comments People with a common heart rhythm problem face a far greater risk of suffering a stroke and developing dementia that previously thoughts, a study suggests. Atrial fibrillation (AF), an electric fault that causes a racing or irregular pulse, affects 1.4 million people in Britain.
Celebrities including Elton John , Miley Cyrus , Tony Blair and Joe Biden are among celebrities known to suffer with it. It has long been known the condition increases the risk of a stroke as sufferers are more likely to develop blood clots that blood the circulation to the brain. For this reason, those most at risk are given blood thinning drug to prevent an attack.
But researchers now believe even those deemed low-risk — and not given blood thinner — may be more likely to suffer serious health problems. Miley Cyrus is known to suffer from atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat condition that affects 1.4 million in Britain Elton John's irregular heartbeat was so severe he needed a pacemaker A team from the University of Birmingham examined data on more than five million people registered with UK GP practices.
Among these they identified 36,340 AF patients who had no history of stroke, a low perceived risk of stroke and .
