I had high blood pressure for 9 months before getting it under control. Is that enough time to get me cognitively impaired? I'm obviously either impaired or delusional right now with my thinking that the stroke medical world is completely incompetent and I alone could direct a much better job than whomever is leading this right now. Maybe a little bit narcissistic there?
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=168611&CultureCode=en
High blood pressure, especially in middle age, is associated with an
increased risk of cognitive impairment later in life, according to a new
statement from the American Heart Association.
The statement, which was published in the American Heart Association
journal Hypertension,reviewed multiple studies and provides an overview
of what is currently known about how high blood pressure influences
brain diseases such as stroke, vascular cognitive impairmentand
Alzheimer’s disease.
“Many observational studies suggest treating hypertension may reduce
the cognitive impact of high blood pressure, especially on vascular
cognitive impairment, but observational studies are not designed to
prove cause and effect,” said Costantino Iadecola, M.D., chair of the
writing committee.
Vascular cognitive impairment describes a range of changes in brain
function, from mild to severe, caused by the impaired flow of blood to
the brain.
“We know treating high blood pressure reduces the risk of heart
diseases such as heart attacks, congestive heart failure and stroke, and
it is important to continue treating it to reduce the risks of these
diseases. However, we need randomized controlled studies – which do
prove cause and effect – to determine if treating high blood pressure,
especially in middle age, will also decrease the risk of cognitive
impairment later in life,” Iadecola said.
Most of the clinical trials the writing committee reviewed did not
directly investigate the effect of high blood pressure on cognition,
which made it impossible to draft a statement that would give healthcare
providers guidance on how to treat patients with dementia, Iadecola
said, who is also Anne Parrish Titzell Professor of Neurology and
director of the Brain and Mind Research Institute at Weill Cornell
Medical College.
One of the issues researchers face is that there are years between
the time a patient has high blood pressure and when the cognitive
problems arise, so long-term studies addressing questions such as when
to start treatment aimed at protecting the brain, the level of blood
pressure that should be achieved and which medications are recommended
is difficult to pinpoint.
Dementia, one of the most common neurological disorders, affects an
estimated 30 to 40 million people worldwide. The number of people with
dementia is anticipated to triple worldwide by 2050 due to the aging of
the population, shifts in demography and lack of treatments, with an
associated cost exceeding $1.1 trillion.
The two leading causes of cognitive impairment are Alzheimer’s
disease and vascular cognitive impairment, which account for
approximately 80 percent of cases. Often, patients suffering from
dementia have a mixture of the two.
“The SPRINT-MIND trial, a new study that is designed to evaluate the
role of treating high blood pressure relative to cognitive impairment,
may provide answers to some of the outstanding questions about treating
high blood pressure relative to reducing the risk of cognitive
impairment,” said Iadecola.
Until then, Iadecola recommends treating high blood pressure on an
individual basis in patients to protect brain, heart, and kidney.
Co-authors are Kristine Yaffe, M.D., co-chair; José Biller, M.D.;
Lisa C. Bratzke, Ph.D.; Frank M. Faraci, Ph.D.; Philip B. Gorelick,
M.D.; Martha Gulati, M.D., M.S.; Hooman Kamel, M.D.; David S. Knopman,
M.D.; Lenore J. Launer, M.D.; Jane S. Saczynski, Ph.D.; Sudha Seshadri,
M.D. and Adina Zeki Al Hazzouri, Ph.D. Author disclosures are on the
manuscript.
http://newsroom.heart.org/news/high-blood-pressure-and-brain-health-are-linked?preview=1cbfda7287aaed05475daf5b670552f6
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