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Heart disease is the # 1 killer in America, and there’s a good chance we all know someone who’s been touched. (My dad, for example, recovered from a heart attack, and my grandfathers on both sides had open heart surgery to treat severe artery blockages.) So I’m trying to follow Life’s Simple 7 from the American Heart Association for a Heart Healthy Lifestyle. , and I aim to fill my weekly menu with as many of these best heart-healthy foods as possible.
As with any health topic, we continue to learn more each month about the most effective ways to prevent – or at least delay – chronic health problems (even those to which we are genetically predisposed). And since, at 34, I hope I have many healthy decades to come, my ears pricked up when I spotted this just published finding: Compared to their peers with normal blood pressure, people who are diagnosed with high blood pressure (or hypertension) between the ages of 35 and 44 tend to have smaller brains and are at greater risk of developing dementia, according to a new study published in the October 2021 issue of the journal AHA Hypertension.
“Hypertension is very common in middle-aged people [45 to 64 years], and early hypertension is increasingly common. While the association between hypertension, brain health, and dementia later in life has been well established, it was not known how age at onset of hypertension might affect this association. If proven, it would provide important evidence to suggest earlier intervention to delay the onset of hypertension, which in turn may be beneficial in preventing dementia ”, Mingguang He, MD, Ph .D., Lead author of the study and professor of ophthalmic epidemiology at the University of Melbourne in Australia, tells the AHA.
Related: High Blood Pressure Can Accelerate Cognitive Decline – Here Are 4 Ways To Fight Both, Doctors Say
The results, the scientists confirm, suggest that adulthood is the best time to keep an eye on blood pressure – and aim to keep it within healthy limits – to control or delay the onset of cognitive decline. (In case you missed it, another new study found that a special diet can reduce the risk of cognitive decline, even if you’re already experiencing symptoms.) To refresh your memory and explain why the head and the heart are connected, about 25% of the blood that comes out of the heart flows to the brain.
To reach this conclusion, the researchers looked at data from UK Biobank, a compilation of health information from 500,000 UK-based volunteer participants. diagnosed at different ages:
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Before 35
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35 to 44 years old
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45 to 54 years old
Scientists compared these brain volume rates with 11,399 participants who had never been diagnosed with high blood pressure (over 130/80 mmHG, according to AHA guidelines), then compared similar participants from each. group according to age and “several health variables”.
Participants entered the study group between 2006 and 2010, and MRIs were taken between 2014 and 2019. In each age group, brain volume was smaller in people with high blood pressure. And hypertension diagnosed before age 35 was linked to the greatest change (i.e., decrease) in brain volume.
“People diagnosed with hypertension at a younger age had smaller brain volumes on these spot measurements. Future research with brain volumes measured at multiple time points could confirm whether hypertension diagnosed at a younger age is associated with a greater decrease in brain volume over time. added Xianwen Shang, Ph.D., MPH, lead study author and researcher at the Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital in Guangzhou, China.
Related: 7 Sneaky Signs You May Have Cognitive Decline, According To Experts
But this change in brain volume doesn’t necessarily mean a diagnosis of dementia is imminent. So, to assess the risk of dementia, the scientists looked at how many participants developed cognitive decline over a nearly 12-year follow-up period. Fascinatingly, although the risk of vascular dementia is 80% higher in people diagnosed with high blood pressure before the age of 35, they found fewer cases of dementia in this cohort, and the association with arterial hypertension was not statistically significant. The risk of dementia from any cause, however, was significantly higher, at 61%, in people diagnosed with high blood pressure between the ages of 35 and 44. less than 120/80 mmHG, according to the AHA.)
“No relationship was found between age at diagnosis of hypertension and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, a type of dementia linked to proteins that disrupt brain function,” the authors explain. (Dementia is a decline in cognitive functions such as problem solving, memory, and language enough to affect daily life. Alzheimer’s disease is a more severe form that falls under the umbrella term ” dementia ”, which also involves a change in thinking and behavior.)
“The results of our study provide evidence to suggest that an early age at onset of hypertension is associated with the onset of dementia and, more importantly, this association is supported by structural changes in brain volume,” explains Shang.
In the future, researchers hope to see if other medical conditions, including diabetes and stroke, may also be linked to the diagnosis of high blood pressure in adulthood. They also hope to broaden the diversity of the study population, this group being predominantly Caucasian. Yet if you, like me, are at high risk for heart disease, are young to mid-adult, and it’s been a minute since your blood pressure was checked, it certainly can’t hurt to take one. pulse. If your blood pressure results return to an elevated level, your doctor may advise you on certain lifestyle changes that can help move the needle. And in case you want to study ahead of time, these 3 things can help lower your high blood pressure, even when medication isn’t helping.
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