New York: Measures of blood vessel health derived from routine blood pressure readings may help identify adults at increased risk for dementia, according to research being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session.
The findings from two studies that tracked patterns of arterial stiffness over time align with growing evidence that uncontrolled hypertension contributes to the development of dementia by accelerating the aging and stiffening of blood vessels.
Rates of dementia and aging-related cognitive decline are expected to increase as populations age. At the same time, nearly half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, known as the “silent killer” because many people don’t know they have it.
Efforts to better address hypertension—a key contributor to heart disease and a risk factor for dementia—could impact both heart and brain health.
“Blood pressure management isn’t just about preventing heart attacks and strokes; it may also be one of the most actionable strategies for preserving cognitive health,” said Newton Nyirenda, MD, epidemiologist at Georgetown University in Washington and lead author of the studies. “We need to start thinking about hypertension management much earlier than we typically have in order to address this in younger adults before damage starts to accumulate.”
In a separate study, researchers found adults with persistently elevated or rapidly increasing estimated pulse wave velocity—a marker of vascular aging calculated from age and blood pressure—were significantly more likely to develop dementia compared with those with more stable vascular profiles.
“Our findings suggest that vascular aging patterns may provide meaningful insight into future dementia risk,” said Nyirenda, MD. “This reinforces the idea that managing vascular health earlier in life may influence long-term brain health.”
