People with poor heart health are much more likely to develop cognitive impairment, especially learning and memory problems, a new study indicates.

US scientists followed the progress of over 17,000 people aged 45 and older. At the beginning of the study, all had normal cognitive function with no history of stroke. They were then followed up four years later.

The study found that those with the poorest heart health had a much bigger risk of developing cognitive problems compared to those with the best, and even intermediate, heart health.

This was seen in relation to learning, memory and verbal fluency. Cognitive tests included asking the participants to name as many animals as they could in 60 seconds.

Overall, almost 5% of participants with the poorest heart health were found to have cognitive impairment after four years, compared to 2.6% of those with the best heart health and 2.7% of those in the intermediate category.

"Even when ideal cardiovascular health is not achieved, intermediate levels of cardiovascular health are preferable to low levels for better cognitive function. This is an encouraging message because intermediate cardiovascular health is a more realistic target for many individuals than ideal cardiovascular health," noted lead investigator, Dr Evan Thacker, of Brigham Young University in Utah.

These differences were seen irrespective of the gender, race or previous heart health of the participants, although the scientists did note that those with higher incomes and better education levels tended to have better heart health overall.

Details of these findings are published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

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