Lower cardiac output is associated with longitudinal decreases in cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-β42, a core Alzheimer's disease biomarker, in women but not men

Subclinical reductions in cardiac output relate to cognitive decline. We examined the relationship between cardiac output and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease pathologies in 153 participants from the Vanderbilt Memory and Aging Project. Linear regression and linear mixed effects regression models related baseline cardiac output, assessed using echocardiogram, to CSF amyloid-β₄₂ (Aβ₄₂), Aβ₄₂/Aβ₄₀, and phosphorylated tau-181 cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Cardiac output interacted with sex on Aβ₄₂ levels longitudinally. Lower cardiac output was associated with lower Aβ₄₂ over time in women but not men. This may reflect cerebral Aβ accumulation or a more general change in Aβ production.