High blood pressure is usually thought to be a risk factor for heart disease, stroke and kidney problems. A new study including nearly 14,000 participants shows that when blood pressure rises in middle age, cognitive function can drop in later years.
Some of the volunteers were followed up for more than two decades. Their mental abilities were tested at least three times. Those with hypertension in middle age experienced a small but important 6.5 percent drop in their scores.
The study did not determine whether controlling blood pressure with drugs would protect brain function. This remains an unanswered question.
[JAMA Neurology, online, Aug 4, 2014]
In The People’s Pharmacy perspective, keeping the brain humming along in later years should be a great motivator to get blood pressure under control earlier. It is a shame we don’t yet have the studies to show whether anti-hypertensive medicines can achieve this goal. We also don’t know, but strongly suspect, that using natural methods to lower blood pressure, such as a DASH diet, weight loss, slow breathing exercises, physical activity and meditation (not to mention foods such as beets and chocolate) might be quite helpful. There is more information about both the medications and the non-drug approaches in our Guide to Blood Pressure Treatment.
