California scientists have reported structural changes in the brains of adult patients who are relatively young and who also suffer from hypertension. Their findings directly link high blood pressure to brain aging.
The project, led by University of California Davis researchers, is the first to demonstrate this relationship in people just entering middle age, according to Medical News Today (MNT). Prior studies followed older patients.
Hypertension — high blood pressure — occurs when the force of a person’s blood against artery walls is high enough to cause medical problems, the Mayo Clinic says. A majority of patients have no symptoms. Among the complications are heart attacks, strokes, aneurysms, heart failure, issues with blood vessels in the kidneys and eyes, cognitive problems, and metabolic syndrome.
A normal blood pressure reading is 120/80. Pre-hypertension readings range from 120 to 139/80 to 89. Readings higher than 140/90 are considered high blood pressure.
Earlier studies demonstrated a relationship between high blood pressure and an elevated risk of brain injury, atrophy leading to brain processing problems, and dementia. The California researchers concluded that treating high blood pressure during middle age — years before most people think much about it — can help prevent cognitive problems later.
The scientists followed 579 subjects in the Framingham Heart Study. Most were in their late 30s when they joined the study in 2009.
Subjects were placed into one of three groups: normal blood pressure, pre-hypertensive, or high blood pressure. The researchers noted whether each was a smoker or took medication for blood pressure. Subjects then underwent MRIs of their brains, including measurements of any injury to white or gray matter.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, gray matter is comprised of cell bodies of neurons that talk to each other. White matter, says MNT, makes up the brain’s axons, long strands that transport electrical signals. Various imaging studies allowed the researchers to compare brains of the three blood pressure groups.
Among subjects with high blood pressure, brains were significantly less healthy and looked older than those of patients with normal blood pressure. In fact, the brain of a 33-year-old subject in the first group resembled that of a typical 40-year-old in the normal group. Subjects with high blood pressure on average had nine percent less gray matter in their frontal and temporal lobes than patients in the normal group.
I was shocked to discover in my late 30s that I had high blood pressure. During an appointment with a new gynecologist, my readings soared to 154/97 even though I had no symptoms. He immediately sent me across the street to see an internist. This fortunate intervention led to the need to monitor my numbers daily and permanent medication. Beyond protecting me from the most common complications of hypertension, it might well have prevented premature aging of my brain.
Vonda J. Sines has published thousands of print and online health and medical articles. She specializes in diseases and other conditions that affect the quality of life.
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Researchers Link High Blood Pressure to Brain Aging
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