High Blood Pressure Can Affect Memory, Cognitive Function At Any Age: Study

The depleting quality of lifestyle choices has made high blood pressure (also known as hypertension) a common chronic illness even in the younger age groups. From diet to exercise, a lot needs to be monitored to keep your blood pressure under control in case you have been diagnosed with it. It is critical to keep your blood pressure in check as the worsening of the disease doesn’t raise any physical alarms. The absence of symptoms makes it a deadly silent killer. Did you know that high blood pressure can also speed up cognitive decline at any age?

According to a report by Healthline, an article published in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension revealed that researchers have found a link between slightly elevated blood pressure and faster cognitive decline in middle-aged to older individuals.

Sandhi Maria Barreto, PhD, professor of medicine at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and one of the authors of the study, said in a press release, “We initially anticipated that the negative effects of hypertension on cognitive function would be more critical when hypertension started at a younger age.”

She further added that effectively treating hypertension at any age in adulthood could prevent acceleration, and it is necessary to diagnose and treat it to preserve cognitive function. The researchers also said that adults with uncontrolled hypertension often experience a “fast decline in memory and cognitive function” than adults with controlled hypertension.

The data of 7000 adults were analysed and the average age of the participants was concluded to be 59 at the initial stage of the study. After 4 years of tests of their memory, executive function and verbal fluency, the researchers concluded that hypertension with no use of medication was associated with a quicker decline in cognitive performance and memory loss in middle-aged and older adults.

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