Sugie M, et al. - Given that previous studies showed a correlation between declined cardiac function and cognitive impairment, researchers studied the link between cognitive function and cardiac parameters in 108 middle-aged and older Japanese community-dwelling adults with preserved ejection fraction without heart failure (25 men and 83 women; mean age 74.7 years). Using B-type natriuretic peptide and echocardiography, they assessed cardiac functional parameters at rest. Based on the vascular cascade hypothesis, findings indicated that peak oxygen uptake/heart rate (an index of stroke volume at peak exercise) might be related to cognitive impairment.