Blood pressure linked to Alzheimer's: Higher than average reading raises risk by 46%, study warns

oxboy · 7/12/2018 1:16 AM EST

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Having high blood pressure in later life could put you at greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s, a study found.

Older people with high blood pressure were almost half - 46 percent - more likely to have brain lesions - areas of damage linked to the disease.

Levels - Tau - Tangles - Type - Protein

They also had higher levels of tau tangles, a type of protein which harm the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

The findings add to growing evidence that adopting healthier lifestyles could be key to staving off dementia.

Blood - Pressure - Term - Hypertension - Adults

High blood pressure - known by the medical term hypertension - affects one in three British adults and is one of the leading causes of heart attacks and stroke.

America's rate was deemed the same - with 75 million people (a third of the population) diagnosed with high blood pressure. But in January, new guidelines made a controversial recommendation to lower the threshold from 140/80 mmHg to 130/80 mmHg, adding another 31 million people to that bracket, to a total of 106 million.

Symptoms - Half - People - Risk

There are often no symptoms until it is too late, with only around half of people even aware that they are at risk.

An ideal blood pressure is a reading of anywhere between 90/60 and 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mmHg).

Patients - Blood - Pressure - Treatment - Reading

Patients are normally diagnosed with high blood pressure and prescribed treatment only if the top reading - the systolic pressure - is above 140 mmHg.

Scientists from Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center in Chicago wanted to examine the impact blood pressure changes in old age can have on the brain.

People - US - Blood - Pressure - Year

They studied almost 1,300 elderly people from the US, who had their blood pressure taken every year until they died, an average eight years later.

Two-thirds of those taking part already had high blood pressure, which is common in the elderly, with most (87 percent) participants on medication for it.

Researchers - Average

Researchers found those with above average...

(Excerpt) Read more at: Mail Online

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