Introduction: Postoperative cognitive decline (POCD) is one of the most serious side effects after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Significant postoperative cognitive impairment is seen in CABG patients. POCD, encompasses deterioration in social functioning, memory, orientation, attention, and judgment. Cognitive reserve (CR), a protective factor that has been considered to operate as a buffer against the impacts of neuropathology, may be able to mitigate these adverse effects.
Method: We investigated the prevalence of POCD and CR in individuals with coronary artery disease undergoing CABG. We postulated that, following heart surgery, elevated CR would guard against POCD. Participants: We evaluated 113 patients both prior to and four months following cardiopulmonary bypass surgery. Measures: The evaluation comprised measures of depression, anxiety, CR, and cognitive functioning.
Results: Based on median split, each patient was assigned to either the high (n=57) or low CR (n = 56) group. According to the result of chi-square tests, patients with low CR were significantly more likely than those with high CR to exhibit postsurgical cognitive deterioration in executive skills, attention, memory, and visuospatial perception during post-surgery neuropsychological evaluation.
Conclusions: According to our findings, CR can predict the neuropsychological results of heart surgery, identify patients with low CR, and assist them in enrolling in intervention programs that may improve their overall functional outcome following surgery or slow cognitive aging or lower the risk of dementia. Determining whether patients will need cognitive rehabilitation is essential due to the frequency and severity of post-operative cardiac dysfunction (POCD) and its impact on daily activities and functioning, which are aspects of quality of life, indicating that CR can predict the neuropsychological results after heart surgery and identifying patients with low CR and including them in intervention programs to improve the patients' overall functional outcome after surgery.
