As people grow older, many worry about keeping their memory and brain sharp.
A new study brings some hopeful news: taking medicine to control high blood pressure may also help lower the risk of dementia in older adults.
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is very common in older people. It can lead to serious health problems like heart disease and stroke. Some earlier studies have also shown that high blood pressure might raise the risk of getting dementia, which affects memory, thinking, and decision-making.
Dementia is a group of conditions that cause the brain to decline over time. Alzheimer’s disease is the most well-known type, but there are others too. Dementia can make it hard for people to live independently and enjoy life.
In this recent study, scientists looked at over 34,000 older adults to see if taking blood pressure medicine made a difference in whether they developed dementia.
The people in the study were divided into three groups: those who had high blood pressure but didn’t take any medication, those who had high blood pressure and took medication, and those who didn’t have high blood pressure at all.
The researchers followed these groups for several years to see how many developed dementia. The results showed that people who had high blood pressure but didn’t treat it were more likely to get dementia.
However, those who took medicine for high blood pressure had a much lower risk. Even more interesting, their risk was about the same as people who didn’t have high blood pressure at all.
This means that taking medicine to control high blood pressure could not only help protect your heart but may also help protect your brain. It’s important to remember that this study doesn’t prove the medicine directly prevents dementia—it only shows that there’s a strong link.
Still, the findings are exciting and suggest that taking care of your blood pressure might also help you avoid memory loss and other brain problems later in life. It also reminds us how important it is to listen to doctors and take medicine if we need it.
Besides medicine, there are other ways to manage blood pressure. Eating healthy foods, getting regular exercise, keeping a healthy weight, and not smoking all play a big role. Also, cutting back on salt and stress can make a difference. If you drink coffee and have very high blood pressure, you may want to reduce how much you drink.
Researchers are still studying how blood pressure affects the brain. Some new studies show that eating mostly plant-based foods and eating early in the day may help lower blood pressure too.
So if you or someone you love has high blood pressure, it’s good to know that treating it may help protect not just the heart—but the brain too.
If you care about Alzheimer’s disease, please read studies about New Alzheimer’s treatment: anti-inflammatory drug may prevent memory loss and findings of The diabetes drug surprise: a possible shield against Alzheimer’s?
For more about brain health, please read studies about Scientists find connection between fungus and Alzheimer’s disease and findings of Scientists find links between COVID-19 and Alzheimer’s disease.
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