High Blood Pressure Speeds Alzheimer's Decline
NEW YORK (Reuters) - High blood pressure appears to hasten the decline in mental functioning that occurs in Alzheimer's disease.
Monday, November 05, 2007
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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - High blood pressure appears to hasten the decline in mental functioning that occurs in Alzheimer's disease, according to a report in the journal Neurology. Atrial fibrillation, a common heart beat disturbance, and chest pain, or "angina," seem to produce a similar effect.
Lead researcher Dr. Michelle M. Mielke and colleagues note that extensive research leaves little doubt that cardiovascular disease increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease, but how it affects established Alzheimer's disease is less clear.
Mielke, at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and her team analyzed data for 135 individuals with Alzheimer's disease enrolled in the Cache County, Utah, Dementia Progression Study. The average age was 84 years, and 66 percent of subjects were women. They were followed for an average of 3 years.
According to results of standard mental function tests, atrial fibrillation and high blood pressure were associated with more rapid decline in thinking ability. The rate of decline was greater in older individuals, the report indicates.
"Clearly, these risk factors need to be addressed at younger ages before the onset of (mental) impairment," Mielke's team points out.
In contrast, prior heart bypass surgery, diabetes, and the use of blood pressure medications were associated with slower rates of decline.
SOURCE: Neurology, November 6, 2007.
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