Vol. 7, Issue 2, Part E (2025)

Chronic heart failure (HF) is frequently associated with cognitive impairment in older adults, affecting up to 50% of these patients. This relationship has multiple causes including low cardiac output, comorbidities, and aging itself, negatively impacting prognosis and increasing mortality and hospitalizations.

A prospective observational study was conducted at General Hospital Zone 20 "La Margarita" in Puebla, evaluating 41 geriatric patients with acutely decompensated chronic HF over six months. The sample included 51.2% men and 48.8% women, with an average age of 79.6 years and 6.89 years of education. Arterial hypertension was the most frequent comorbidity (82.9%).

Using the Mini-Mental State Examination and Framingham criteria, cognitive status was evaluated along with other functional variables. Results showed that 34.1% of patients had normal cognitive function, while 36.6% presented some degree of cognitive impairment. Depression affected 19.5% of participants, anxiety 27.5%, and dementia 7.3%, predominantly vascular type. Delirium occurred in 17.1% of cases.

Statistical analysis confirmed a moderate relationship between cognitive impairment and heart failure (p=0.05, r=0.5), with contributing factors being the number of hospitalizations and infectious processes. This study demonstrates the importance of comprehensively evaluating cognitive status in patients with chronic heart failure.