High Blood Pressure Linked to Reduced Thinking and Memory in Middle Age, Study Says

High blood pressure, or hypertension as it’s also called, is a life-threatening condition that affects as many as 73 million Americans. Nearly 60,000 people die each year in the United States as a result of high blood pressure, which is an epidemic in our increasingly obese and healthy nation.

And now, new medical research says the chronic condition may make it more difficult for middle-aged people to remember things or think clearly.

Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that people in their mid-40s and older who had high diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number in a blood pressure reading) were more likely to experience the problems, compared to others with normal blood pressure readings.

High diastolic blood pressure has been shown before to cause weakening of small arteries in the brain, which can cause small areas of brain damage, reducing cognitive ability, the researchers said.

Study Finds Link

In a study of 19,836 people age 45 and older who had no history of suffering a stroke or mini-stroke, researchers found that 7.6 percent of the patients had cognitive thinking problems while nearly half, 49.6 percent, were already taking medication for high blood pressure.

From there, the risks of cognitive problems went up seven percent for ever 10-point increase in diastolic blood pressure, the study concluded. The study’s findings held water even after the research team adjusted for risk factors, such as the patients’ age, whether they smoked, their levels of exercise, and conditions such as diabetes and high cholesterol.

Breakthrough in Treatment of Cognitive Impairment?

The researchers said their study may provide a breakthrough in reducing thinking and memory problems in the middle-aged.

“It’s possible that by preventing or treating high blood pressure, we could potentially prevent cognitive impairment, which can be a precursor to dementia,” said Dr. Georgios Tsivgoulis, an investigator on the study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The study was published in the journal Neurology, according to a Reuters News report.

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