You'll have to ask your doctor how to prevent aortic stiffness and the protocols needed to get to the levels of physical required for this.
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20180612/Combination-of-physical-fitness-and-aohttps://www.news-medical.net/news/20180612/Combination-of-physical-fitness-and-aortic-stiffness-explains-rate-of-memory-decline-in-older-people.aspx
The rate of decline in certain aspects of memory may be explained by a
combination of overall physical fitness and the stiffness of the
central arteries, researchers from Swinburne's Centre for Human
Psychopharmacology have found.
A study to be published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
considers the mechanisms underlying cognitive performance in older
people living independently.
Lead author, PhD candidate Greg Kennedy, says that from early
adulthood, memory and other aspects of cognition slowly decline, with an
increasing risk of developing into dementia in later life.
"Exactly why this occurs is unclear, but research indicates that
exercise and physical fitness are protective," Mr Kennedy says. "A
healthier, more elastic aorta is also theorized to protect cognitive
function, by reducing the negative effects of excessive blood pressure
on the brain."
The study investigated whether fitness was associated with better cognition through a healthier aorta.
Physical fitness and arterial stiffness assessment
One hundred and two people (73 females and 29 males), aged between 60
and 90 years, living independently in aged care communities, were
recruited in Melbourne, Australia.
Their fitness was assessed with the Six-Minute Walk test which
involved participants walking back and forth between two markers placed
10 meters apart for six minutes.
Only participants who completed the full six minutes were included in
the analysis, which assessed the stiffness of their arteries and
cognitive performance.
The researchers found that (along with Body Mass Index and sex) the
combination of fitness and aortic stiffness explained a third of the
variation in performance in working memory in older people.
"People generally are less fit and have stiffer arteries as they age,
which seems to explain the difference in memory ability that is usually
attributed to 'getting older'," Mr Kennedy says.
Interestingly, physical fitness did not seem to affect central
arterial stiffness, however, Mr Kennedy points out that only current
fitness was assessed - long-term fitness may be a better predictor of
central arterial stiffness, however this has yet to be investigated.
"Unfortunately, there is currently no effective pharmacological
intervention that has proven effective in the long term in reducing this
decline or staving off dementia," Mr Kennedy says.
"The results of this study indicate that remaining as physically fit
as possible, and monitoring central arterial health, may well be an
important, cost-effective way to maintain our memory and other brain
functions in older age."
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