[Cardiogenic dementia].

Generally, when discussing vascular diseases of the brain, practitioners refer to diseases of the large (cervicocephalic) and small (perforating) arteries, requiring a differentiated approach to diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. The anatomical and functional unity of the cardiovascular system makes this approach quite arbitrary. Unfortunately, it often escapes attention that the most important component of the cardiovascular system (heart) and its diseases play an important, often dominant role in the development of cerebrovascular disorders, including cognitive impairment and dementia. This paper presents a literature review spanning a 50-year search depth. A literature search was conducted in the eLibrary.ru, CyberLeninka, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases using the key terms «myocardial infarction», «heart failure», «myocardial disease», «cognitive impairment», and «dementia». Current evidence suggests a much broader understanding of the pathogenesis of a condition that was dubbed «cardiogenic dementia» almost half a century ago. The mechanisms underlying the development of encephalopathy in myocardial diseases include chronic brain hypoperfusion, chronic low-intensity inflammation, oxidative stress, damage to the blood-brain barrier, and hyperactivation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and the sympathetic nervous system.