High Blood Pressure Linked to Brain Lesions, Alzheimer's Markers

A study published in Neurology suggests a connection between high blood pressure in older adults and brain lesions and markers associated with Alzheimer's disease, reports U.S. News & World Report . Investigators tracked 1,288 older adults until their deaths at an average age of 89 years old. They determined the risk of brain lesions was higher in people with elevated average systolic blood pressure over the years of the study. The average systolic blood pressure for the study participants was 134 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) while the average diastolic was 71 mmHg. Two-thirds of participants had a history of high blood pressure and 87 percent were taking medications for high blood pressure. Forty-eight percent of the subjects had one or more brain infarcts. The higher the participants' blood pressure, the greater the odds of brain lesions. Persons with a systolic reading of 147 instead of the group average of 134 had a 46 percent higher risk of having one or more large brain lesions, as well as a 36 percent elevation in the risk of having very small lesions. A higher average diastolic blood pressure also raised the risk for brain infarct lesions, as participants with diastolic pressure of 79 mmHg, above the group average of 71 mmHg, were 28 percent more likely to develop one or more brain lesions. Post-mortem brain examination turned up a link between average systolic blood pressure in the years before a person's death and a higher number of tangles in the brain that are associated with Alzheimer's.