A new research published in Journal of the American Heart Association has found that a healthy heart may at times work wonders to check the decline of brain function, a condition generally associated with advancing age.

Conducted by researchers from the University of Miami and Columbia University, the study analyzed seven factors, including tobacco avoidance, ideal levels of weight, physical activity, healthy diet, blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose, all of which together comprise the American Heart Association’s "Life's Simple Seven®" and are used to define cardiovascular health.

Before reaching at their conclusion, researchers assessed the health of a racially diverse group of older adults for six years. They found that those who had more ideal cardiovascular health factors coupled with brain processing speed at the study's start suffered less cognitive decline during the study.

The study had 1,033 participants with an average age of 72 years. While 65% of the subjects were Hispanic, 19% were Black and 16% White. The researchers assessed the participants on the basis of memory and thinking and brain processing speed, which measured how quickly a person is able to perform tasks that require focused attention. Six years down the line, 722 participants repeated cognitive testing, which allowed researchers to measure performance over the time.

Hannah Gardener, Sc.D., the study's lead author, said, “Achieving the health metrics of Life's Simple 7® is associated with a reduced risk of strokes and heart attacks, even among the elderly”.

And the finding that they may also impact cognitive, or brain function, underscored the importance of measuring, monitoring and controlling these seven factors by patients and physicians, said Gardener, an assistant scientist in neurology at the Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, in Florida.

She emphasized on similar studies in race and ethnically diverse populations, with different profiles of educational attainment, literacy and employment status, to generalize the findings to other populations.