What is the purpose of the Bakken Heart-Brain Institute?
The Bakken Heart-Brain Institute is dedicated to investigating the interactions between the heart and brain, educating others about discoveries of new treatments and cures for cardiovascular and nervous system disorders, and offering a better range of healing solutions for the sick.
What are some examples of the heart-brain connection?
Many neurologic conditions that have an impact on the cardiovascular system, including:
- Parkinson’s disease
- epilepsy
- depression
- anxiety
- stress
So, for example, someone who has depression can have an increased likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease.
An example of cardiovascular conditions having an impact on the neurological system involves one of the most common irregular heart rhythms, called atrial fibrillation. It affects more than 2.2 million people in the United States, and more than 160,000 new cases of atrial fibrillation are diagnosed each year. In people who have atrial fibrillation, many electrical impulses begin and spread through a part of the heart called the atria. The resulting rhythm is disorganized, rapid and irregular.
Because the impulses are traveling through the atria in a disorderly fashion, the atria are not able to contract in a regular rhythm. The blood doesn’t pump completely out of the heart and it can form a clot. If a clot leave the heart and travels to the brain, a stroke occurs. Atrial fibrillation may be the cause of one out of every five strokes. Researchers are looking into whether it’s possible to control the heart’s rhythm through the brain rather than directly through the heart.
What is "pump head?"
Pump head can result after a patient has been on a heart-lung bypass machine for heart surgery. Many people will resume their normal activities, but might seem more forgetful or a little depressed for a time following the surgery. This condition is something that’s very common. Most patients who have heart surgery can experience pump head.
What will be the focus of the heart-brain research at Cleveland Clinic?
One of the areas the Bakken Heart-Brain Institute will be focusing research on is to study the role the brain plays in a person developing heart rate problems (like atrial fibrillation mentioned earlier) and heart failure.
The second area is to look at the effectiveness of electrically stimulating the brain to control the nerves that make the heartbeat. Meaning, using a brain pacemaker in conjunction with or in place of a heart pacemaker.
A third area is to study the affect strokes and brain hemorrhages have on the heart.
What are chronobiology and circadian rhythms?
Chronobiology is the study of the rhythms of the body and their affect on diseases and drug therapy. For example, from 6 a.m. to noon, there is a 40 percent greater risk for someone having a heart attack. Circadian rhythms are the body’s 24-hour biological cycles. It’s a person’s circadian rhythm that is affected, for example, when you travel to another time zone and experience jet lag. By better understanding how chronobiology and circadian rhythms influence the heart and the brain, we can potentially tailor medical treatments or therapies based on these cycles.
What are some key medical conditions that will benefit from Heart-Brain research?
The medical conditions listed below have been identified as those that will benefit from Heart Brain research and medicine.
Arrhythmias
An arrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat.
Atrial fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation is one of the most common irregular heart rhythms. It affects more than 2.2 million people in the United States, and more than 160,000 new cases of atrial fibrillation are diagnosed each year.
Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy occurs when the heart muscle becomes inflamed and does not function as efficiently as it should. Multiple factors, such as viral infections, may cause cardiomyopathy. Primary cardiomyopathy cannot be attributed to specific causes, such as high blood pressure or heart valve disease, but secondary cardiomyopathy can be attributed to a specific cause.
Congestive Heart Failure
Congestive heart failure, or simply heart failure, occurs when the heart is unable to pump blood out to the body as it should. The heart may not be able to fill with enough blood or pump with enough force.
Sudden Cardiac Death
Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is caused by an abrupt loss of heart function, or cardiac arrest. The time and mode of death are unexpected, occurring minutes after symptoms appear. Coronary heart disease, otherwise known as the fatty buildups in the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle, is the most common cause of sudden cardiac death.
Vasovagal Syncope
Vasovagal syncope occurs when a person has a low heart rate or blood pressure, leading to inadequate circulation to the brain. The result is fainting, or loss of consciousness.
Stroke
A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain stops. This happens either because a blood clot has blocked a blood vessel or artery in the brain (ischemic stroke), or because a blood vessel in the brain has ruptured and blood has been spilled into the surrounding tissue (hemorrhagic stroke). Brain cells in the affected area begin to die because of the sudden lack of oxygen and nutrients or the sudden spill of blood.
Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage
An aneurismal subarachnoid hemorrhage occurs when a blood vessel that has an aneurysm, or weak bulging spot, breaks at the base of the brain. This rupture causes bleeding onto the surface of the brain and can lead to a stroke or death if not treated immediately.
Vasospasm
A vasospasm is a narrowing of the arteries that carry blood to the brain, heart and other organs. Typically, the arteries affected by a ruptured blood vessel in the brain can spasm and narrow days after the initial event. Because the artery is narrower or periodically spasms, blood flow to that part of the body can be restricted.
Post-Heart Transplant Vasculopathy
The major cause of death in cardiac transplant recipients beyond the first year after transplantation, post-heart transplant vasculopathy is a thickening of the coronary artery walls. The condition leads to coronary obstruction and ultimately transplant failure. Diagnosis of transplant vasculopathy is difficult because transplant patients, with denervated hearts, do not experience heart-related chest pain.
Primary Dysautonomias
Dysautonomias are conditions caused by a malfunction of the autonomic nervous system, which regulates all of the unconscious functions of the body, including the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and neurological systems.
Shy-Drager’s Syndrome: Shy-Drager’s Syndrome causes an excessive drop in blood pressure that leads to dizziness or momentary blackouts upon standing up. It can cause symptoms such as slow movement, mild tremors and tendency to fall. Shy-Drager’s Syndrome is difficult to treat because of natural fluctuations in blood pressure.
Parkinson’s Disease: Parkinson’s disease occurs when certain nerve cells in the brain that produce dopamine die or become impaired. Dopamine helps transmit signals within the brain, and without it, the nerve cells fire uncontrollably, leaving patients unable to direct or control movement. The disease is chronic and progressive.
Diabetic Autonomic Neuropathy: Diabetes can lead to nerve damage, or peripheral neuropathy. If nerves within the autonomic nervous system are damaged because of peripheral neuropathy, a host of symptoms can occur, depending on what system is affected. These symptoms include constipation, dizziness, shortness of breath or excessive perspiration.
How can I help fund heart-brain research?
We appreciate any support that will help advance the field of heart-brain medicine. If you would like to make a donation, please call 216.636.BHBI (2424) or 800.223.2273, ext. 6-2424 or click on the following link: www.clevelandclinic.org/isupport.
