In this 6 June 2013, file photo, a patient has her blood pressure checked by a registered nurse in Plainfield, VT . (Photo: Toby Talbot, AP)

The medical mantra that "what is good for the heart is good for the brain" received more support on Wednesday.

Aggressive lowering of blood pressure in high-risk individuals for heart attacks and strokes also reduced their likelihood of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a condition that often leads to dementia, a new study found .

"This is the first intervention to reduce the risk of ICM," said Jeff Williamson, who led the study and co-directs the Alzheimer's Research Center's ### Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Patients treated to reduce their systolic blood pressure – the highest figure in a blood pressure measurement – to 120 mmHg were 19% less likely to develop a mild cognitive impairment than those with a blood pressure of 140 mmHg. [19659008Larechercheaétéprésentéemercrediàlaconférenceannuelledel'AssociationAlzheimerencoursàChicagoLesdonnéessontconsidéréespréliminairesparcequ'ellesn'ontpasétépubliéesouexaminéespardespairsetWilliamsonaditavoirvulesdernierspatientsaussirécemmentquelemoisdernier

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But he and several other caregivers said that & # 39; they were already excited about the results.

"This should really have a significant impact on how health care, particularly in family medicine and primary care, should be aimed at lowering blood pressure," said Sharon Cohen, behavioral neurologist and director of the department. Toronto Memory Program. , The largest Alzheimer's research clinic in Canada. Cohen, who was not involved in the new study, said, "It's not enough to aim at 140 systolic. We should go lower. "

The study followed 9,300 people, many of whom were over 75 years old, had kidney disease or were otherwise at high risk of cardiovascular problems.They were divided into two groups, one of which was high blood pressure. systolic was targeted for 140 and one for 120. Both groups were advised to make lifestyle changes to help lower their blood pressure.

The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology published new guidelines last year stating that patients should start being treated at 130/80 blood pressure rather than the previous standard of 140/90.

In the new study, those An average of 140 patients took two medications, while those who tried to reach 120 received three medications, both taking medications for an average of three years

. r The federal government was more diverse than many previous studies, with 30% of participants identifying as African-Americans and 10% as Hispanics. Originally designed to examine heart disease, a safety oversight committee decided in 2015 that there was no doubt that the lowering of blood pressure was benefiting the hearts of participants – and that it was a good thing. study revealed no difference in race, ethnicity or gender. stopped the study. Patients returned to their usual doctors and some continued the same level of blood pressure control.

The study examined these participants a few years later to see if there had been an effect on brain function. In addition to the reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment, MRI on a group of participants showed that reducing their blood pressure also reduced their risk of tiny brain bleeds, said Laurie Ryan, head of the Division of Dementia Aging at the National Institute on Aging, which funded the study with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

The study showed an increase in headaches and vertigo and greater susceptibility to dehydration and mineral imbalances in people, but no falls or serious incidents.

"I was not sure of myself as a scientist, was lowering blood pressure as good for the brain as for the heart?" Williamson said, "The data What he has seen so far here was convincing, he said.

"I changed my personal practice," he said, noting that he ensured that his own blood pressure was well controlled, and in his medical practice, "we are talking to people about their blood pressure in the 120-130 range."

Harlan Krumholz, cardiologist and health care researcher Health at Yale University and Yale-New Haven Hospital in Connecticut, said he sees the study more like the beginning of a conversation, rather than a hard blood pressure target. And it's not realistic, he says, to assume that every patient will be ready or able to change their lifestyle and take three medications a day. to lower his blood pressure.

Some patients, he says, think that help me at all, I'm in, "while others want more evidence before they agree to more drugs.

But The study now provides them with another option, he said.In the past, few people would have had the opportunity to lower their blood pressure to 120.

"We have to (really) sit down with patients and do the hard work of trying to figure out what suits them best given their preferences. "Krumholz said

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