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Blood pressure fluctuations endanger mental performance in old age
High blood pressure has long been regarded as a concern for our health. Now researchers have found that fluctuating blood pressure can also have some negative effects on our health. When blood pressure is more likely to fluctuate among older people, it may even threaten to reduce brain function.
Researchers at the Rutgers Cancer Institute have now found in an investigation that fluctuations in blood pressure, especially for older people, bring dangerous consequences. When blood pressure often changes, the risk of losing or reducing brain function increases. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "Hypertension".
So far, doctors have warned against high blood pressure, but now scientists have found that there is a particular risk of frequent fluctuations in blood pressure. (Picture: Picture-Factory / fotolia.com) Fluctuations in blood pressure can cause the breakdown of brain functions
The current study was a so-called observational study, for which reason no exact cause-and-effect relationship could be determined, explain the physicians. However, a combination of blood pressure fluctuations and brain function reduction is quite plausible, said lead author Bo Qin of Rutgers Cancer Institute, New Brunswick. Blood pressure variability could be a signal for instability of blood flow. This may then cause damage to the body's finer vessels or even cause changes in brain structure and disrupt brain function, Qin says.
Slight changes in blood pressure are normal
Blood pressure also varies in healthy people. For example, the blood pressure tends to be lower in the morning and then increase the rest of the day, the researchers explain. Previous research has linked particularly large fluctuations in the course of the day with later cardiac problems that may even lead to heart attack, stroke and death, say the authors. The physicians analyzed the data of 1,000 Chinese adults for their research. The data came from a major health study in China that asked people questions about health and nutrition, the researchers add.
Subjects with fluctuating blood pressure had worse cognitive test scores
The results of the survey included information on blood pressure levels and the outcome of various mental tests. These examined, for example, memories and the ability to count backwards, explain the doctors. For some of the participants, the blood pressure values between several visits to the doctor changed significantly. The researchers were able to observe in such persons that they performed worse in cognitive tests. The key, however, was variability, not blood pressure itself. Average blood pressure levels could not be linked to poorer cognitive performance. Doctors are generally more inclined to focus on average blood pressure during examinations, say the authors. But also important fluctuations seem to be important. (As)