High Blood Pressure at Age 50 Tied to Dementia Risk

A study published in the European Heart Journal estimated that systolic blood pressure as low as 130 at age 50 raises the risk for dementia, reports the New York Times . The investigators measured blood pressure in 8,639 men and women in 1985, when they were age 35 to 55, and repeated the measurements in 1991, 1997, and 2003. Through March 2017, 385 cases of dementia were recorded. After controlling for various risk factors, the researchers found a systolic blood pressure at age 50 of 130 or higher was independently tied to a 38 percent increased risk of dementia. "The 140 threshold has been considered beneficial for the heart for a long time, but it might not work for the brain," notes Inserm Professor Archana Singh-Manoux. "The problem with hypertension is that people don't take their meds because they have no symptoms. I would encourage people to use their hypertensive medications."