High blood pressure appears to accelerate a decline in cognitive performance which includes memory, verbal fluency, attention and concentration in middle-aged and older adults, according to a study published in Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal.
Although the participants of the study were adults from Brazil, the findings are applicable to India too where hypertension is the most important risk factor for chronic disease burden. Studies from various parts of India have reported high prevalence of hypertension. To make the matter worse, hypertension is increasing and there is low awareness and control in India.
Blood pressure of 120 mmHg - 129 mmHg systolic (the top number in a reading) or higher is considered elevated. Systolic pressure above 130 mmHg, or diastolic pressure (the bottom number) of 80 mmHg or higher is considered hypertension.
“We initially anticipated that the negative effects of hypertension on cognitive function would be more critical when hypertension started at a younger age, however, our results show similar accelerated cognitive performance decline whether hypertension started in middle age or at older ages,” said study author Sandhi M Barreto, Professor of medicine at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
“We also found that effectively treating high blood pressure at any age in adulthood could reduce or prevent this acceleration. Collectively, the findings suggest hypertension needs to be prevented, diagnosed and effectively treated in adults of any age to preserve cognitive function.”
Barreto and colleagues analyzed findings from an existing study that included blood pressure and cognitive health information for more than 7,000 adults in Brazil, whose average age was about 59 years old at the study’s start. The study participants were followed for an average of nearly 4 years; testing included analysis of memory, verbal fluency and executive function, which includes attention, concentration and other factors associated with thinking and reasoning.