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Here’s more motivation to keep your blood pressure under control: a major study published online December 14, 2020, by the journal Hypertension suggesting that high blood pressure leads to a decline in mental abilities (thinking skills). Researchers analyzed two health assessments, taken about four years apart, of more than 7,000 middle-aged and elderly people in Brazil. The evaluations noted changes in a number of cognitive skills, such as memory, language and concentration. Regardless of age, people with high blood pressure had a faster decline in mental performance, compared to people with normal blood pressure. The researchers classified blood pressure as high if the highest number was 130 or higher and the low number was 80 or higher. But even people with a high number between 120 and 130 suffered mental decline faster than people with normal blood pressure. The silver lining: the researchers found that treating high blood pressure at any age seemed to reduce or prevent accelerated mental decline. High blood pressure can be controlled with medications as well as pill-free approaches, such as losing weight, exercising, eating a heart-healthy diet, reducing alcohol, managing weight, and stopping smoking.
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