A new study from Australian researchers has found that sudden changes in blood pressure could increase the risk of developing dementia and other vascular problems in older adults.
The study, led by the University of South Australia (UniSA), focused on how blood pressure can vary not just in the long term, but even over short periods—like within a single day or over several weeks. These fluctuations, researchers say, are linked to both poorer thinking ability and stiffening of the arteries, which may lead to heart disease.
The research was published in the journal Cerebral Circulation – Cognition and Behaviour.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, has long been known to be a risk factor for dementia. But this new research sheds light on another aspect: how much your blood pressure goes up and down, even if it isn’t always high.
Daria Gutteridge, a PhD student working in UniSA’s Cognitive Ageing and Impairment Neuroscience Laboratory (CAIN), said that while many treatments for high blood pressure aim to lower it, they don’t always take into account the swings or variability in those numbers.
“Doctors usually look at whether someone’s blood pressure is too high, but they often overlook how much it fluctuates,” she said. “But these ups and downs—both during the day and from one day to the next—seem to make the brain and blood vessels more vulnerable.”
To find out more, the research team studied 70 healthy people aged 60 to 80. These individuals did not have dementia or any signs of memory loss. Over time, the researchers tracked their blood pressure, asked them to complete thinking and memory tests, and also looked at how stiff their arteries were.
They found that people whose blood pressure varied more showed weaker performance on the cognitive tests. Their arteries also appeared to be stiffer, especially when their systolic blood pressure—the top number in a BP reading—was the one changing the most.
Why is this important? Stiffer arteries can make it harder for blood to flow properly to the brain. If the brain doesn’t get enough steady blood supply, it can affect thinking and memory, and eventually raise the risk of dementia.
Another key point is that these results were seen in people who didn’t yet have any symptoms of dementia. That means this kind of blood pressure variability could be a very early warning sign.
“These findings tell us that it’s not just high blood pressure that matters—it’s also how much it swings up and down,” Gutteridge explained.
She hopes this study will encourage doctors to start paying more attention to blood pressure variability when monitoring older patients, especially since simple tools like home blood pressure monitors could help catch these fluctuations early.
In summary, this study suggests that keeping your blood pressure steady might be just as important as keeping it low, especially for brain and heart health in older age.
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