RELAÇÃO DA ANTICOAGULAÇÃO COM A COGNIÇÃO DA PESSOA IDOSA.

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.1572411037

• Palavras-chave: Idoso, cognição, anticoagulante, fibrilação atrial

• Keywords: Elderly, cognition, anticoagulant, atrial fibrillation

• Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a sustained arrhythmia common among the elderly, which results in an increased risk of stroke. It is known that this arrhythmia is associated with cardiovascular events such as: incident heart failure, ischemic heart disease and peripheral vascular disease. Elderly people with atrial fibrillation are approximately twice as likely to have dementia because of the risk of silent cerebral infarctions due to the accumulation of microemboli, cerebral hemorrhage and systemic inflammation. METHODOLOGY: This is an integrative literature review that carried out a survey of publications in the Virtual Health Library, using the descriptors: “Elderly” AND “atrial fibrillation” AND “cognition” AND “anticoagulant”, finding 20 articles. After applying the filters: full text; English and from 2013 to 2023; 18 works were found. Of these, 1 was excluded due to thematic leakage and 6 were paid, constituting a final corpus of 11 articles. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS: Elderly people at high risk of AF are usually recommended prophylactic treatment with oral anticoagulants (OAC) and recent studies indicate different levels of cognitive protection against dementia in this population based on the use of OAC. In this sense, it was observed that new oral anticoagulants have an efficient protective effect on cognitive and AF. However, anticoagulation management is complex in the elderly and may be accompanied by bleeding, which contributes to the increased risk of stroke. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: AF is associated with cognitive decline in the elderly population, however correct treatment with anticoagulant therapy helps not only to reduce the arrhythmia but also the occurrence of cognitive impairment. Therefore, the importance of understanding and modifying the risk factors for atrial fibrillation is further highlighted, in addition to implementing immediate resolving therapy to prevent further damage to the elderly.