High blood pressure can lead to cognitive problems

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

People who have high blood pressure run the risk of impaired memory and verbal ability as they get older.
We already know that high blood pressure raises the risk of stroke and heart attack. Now a report from the Veterans Affairs (VA) Normative Aging Study suggests high blood pressure also affects cognitive ability. Researchers at the VA Boston Healthcare System and elsewhere stuidied a group of 367 men of average age 67, giving them tests of memory and verbal fluency.

They found that men with uncontrolled high blood pressure did worse on short term memory tests and in tests of fluency. Those on medication for high blood pressure did as well on these tests as the men who had normal blood pressure. The researchers wonder if perhaps high blood pressure accelerates the effect of aging on the frontal lobes of the brain, making it harder to retrieve information. This study gives yet another reason for making efforts to keep blood pressure within the normal range of 140/90 or even lower.

Source
Neuropsychology December 2005 Volume 19 Number 6