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Add dementia and mild cognitive impairment to the growing list of risks associated with high blood pressure.
New findings from a study of 9,000 people were presented this week at the International Conference of the Alzheimer's Association in Chicago.
The stronger link than ever before between cognitive impairment and high blood pressure is considered the best use in family practice.
"I think it serves as a kind of awakening for primary care physicians," said Dr. Michael Lobatz, neurologist and medical director of the Scripps Rehabilitation Center
According to the study, 9,000 Patients who received intensive treatment to lower systolic blood pressure to 120 showed a 19 percent lower likelihood of developing mild cognitive impairment and 15 percent less chance of being impaired and demented than those who received standard treatment who asked for a systolic rate of 130.
The number refers to the number of millimeters of pressu re in the blood vessels of a person when his heart beats. Diastolic pressure, the second number recorded during a blood pressure reading and measurement of pressure between beats, was not part of the study.
A systolic pressure score of less than 120 is considered normal by the American Heart Association. In 2017, based on evidence of cardiovascular risk, the systolic threshold of treatment was lowered from 140 to 130.
The information was disseminated by a coalition of organizations including the University Wake Forest, Case Western Reserve University and the University of Utah. The researchers worked with patients who met the guidelines for high blood pressure and explored the benefits of using drugs and lifestyle changes to bring systolic pressure closer to normal values.
All study participants, conducted in 90 sites across the United States, had elevated blood pressure, but no previous diagnosis of diabetes, dementia, or stroke had occurred. had been laid. The average age of the participants was about 68. About a third of the participants were women.
Lobatz at Scripps said that the size of the study and its methods are impressive.
"The fact that this study demonstrated this link in a randomized controlled trial is a very good proof," he said.
Hector González, a neuroscientist at the Center for Research on Alzheimer's disease Shiley-Marcos of UC San Diego, was of the same opinion. "The researcher, who does a similar job among Latinos, said the methods used are considered the best practice. [19659002] "I think it's really a meaningful study, and I've followed it a lot," said Gonzalez.It's important to note that the results say nothing about Alzheimer's disease but rather on a slight cognitive impairment, a slight decrease in memory, language abilities, cognition and judgment that may be the earliest sign of dementia, but it is thought that It is caused by an accumulation of harmful proteins in the brain. Dementia forms have much more direct links to the tiny blood vessels that keep brain cells healthy.
For vascular dementia, says Lobatz, arterial hypertension has long been on the radar of neurologists
. "If high blood pressure damages your blood vessels, it puts you at greater risk," he says.
González said that general practitioners currently warn anyone with hypertension that failure to reduce their number greatly increases the risk. from a serious illness from a stroke to a heart attack. Now the risk of memory problems can be included with more confidence in the conversation about hypertension.
"This adds to the list of reasons why we want to make sure that many people control their systolic blood pressure as well as their overall cardiovascular health," he said. "This further enhances the appeal that clinicians already make to patients."