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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : June 6, 2014 1:00 PM IST
A new research has found that high blood pressure in middle age plays a critical role in whether blood pressure in old age may affect memory and thinking. 'Our findings bring new insight into the relationship between a history of high blood pressure, blood pressure in old age, the effects of blood pressure on brain structure, and memory and thinking,' study author Lenore J. Launer, PhD, of the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Md., and a member of the American Academy of Neurology, said.
For the study, 4,057 older participants free of dementia had their blood pressure measured in middle-age, (average age of 50). In late life (an average age of 76) their blood pressure was remeasured and participants underwent MRIs that looked at structure and damage to the small vessels in the brain. They also took tests that measured their memory and thinking ability. The study found that the association of blood pressure in old age to brain measures depended on a history of blood pressure in middle age. Higher systolic (the top number on the measure of blood pressure) and diastolic (the bottom number on the measure of blood pressure) blood pressure were associated with increased risk of brain lesions and tiny brain bleeds. Read more about he symptoms of high blood pressure
This was most noticeable in people without a history of high blood pressure in middle age. For example, people with no history of high blood pressure in middle age who had high diastolic blood pressure in old age were 50 percent more likely to have severe brain lesions than people with low diastolic blood pressure in old age. However, in people with a history of high blood pressure in middle age, lower diastolic blood pressure in older age was associated with smaller total brain and gray matter volumes. The study is published in the online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Here's a detailed account on medicines for hypertension and their side-effects.
What is high blood pressure or hypertension?
Hypertension is the medical terminology for high blood pressure. Blood flows through the arteries due to force that is exerted every time the heart beats to pump blood to various organs of your body. The force with which blood flows exerts pressure on the walls of the arteries. The more the pressure, the harder your heart has to work to pump blood.
Blood pressure is measured in millimetres of mercury (mmHg). 120/80 mmHg is considered as the normal reading for blood pressure, where 120 is the pressure when the heart beats to pump out blood (systolic pressure) and 80 is the pressure when the heart rests between beats (diastolic pressure). A person is said to have hypertension when the blood pressure readings are 140/90 mmHg or higher.
Hypertension is one of the most common chronic conditions that can lead to several other health problems in the presence of contributing factors like genetics, obesity or high cholesterol levels. These factors further increase the resistance of blood flow through the arteries and cause high BP. Elevated blood pressure is linked to a variety of diseases like coronary artery diseases, stroke, kidney diseases, vision loss and erectile dysfunction. Hypertension can be curtailed by changes like exercising more, eating right and reducing stressapart from taking anti-hypertensive drugs. Read more about causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of hypertension.
With inputs from ANI
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