一項使用功能性核磁共振(fMRI)的研究證實，心衰患者大腦有相當多的組織損失，這些組織控制著自主神經系統，干預心血管系統的快速適應血壓和心率的功能。

fMRI掃描先世，這種損傷位于患嚴重抑郁患者位置相同的大腦區域，這能夠解釋為什么心衰患者經常出現抑郁。大腦損傷能夠顯著影像心衰患者的運動能力，降低患者的整體生存質量。

來自洛山磯加利福尼亞大學的研究人員報道說，該研究的結果強調了如下需要，1、心血管醫生必須認識到心衰患者出現的腦損傷以及心臟損傷，2、必須研制開發能夠穿過血腦屏障的藥物或者治療治療措施，增加腦功能，防止腦損傷。這項研究結果發表在2005年8月期的《心臟功能衰竭》期刊之上。

Brain Damage in Heart Patients Tied to Depression
 
A study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) demonstrated considerable tissue loss in the areas of heart-failure patients’ brains that control the autonomic nervous system, interfering with the cardiovascular system’s ability to quickly adapt to alterations in blood pressure and heart rate.

The damage, as shown on fMRI scans, lies in the same brain regions showing changes in people suffering major depression, which may explain why many heart-failure patients are frequently depressed. The brain damage could significantly affect heart-failure patients’ ability to exercise and lower their overall quality of life.

Clinically, the researchers, from the University of California, Los Angeles (USA), reported that the study’s findings stress the need for (1) cardiologists to recognize that heart-failure patients suffer from a brain injury, as well as a heart injury, and (2) that medications or other treatments must be developed to cross the blood-brain barrier, enhance brain function, and prevent brain injury. The study was published in the August 2005 issue of the Journal of Cardiac Failure.