The brains of people whose blood pressure is high, but not considered hypertension, appear older in appearance.
- Blood pressure is the force exerted by blood on the walls of the arteries.
- It can be measured at home or at the doctor’s.
- High blood pressure increases the risk of stroke, myocardial infarction and heart failure.
Good health starts with normal blood pressure. Its level is determined by two numbers: systolic pressure, the pressure when the heart contracts, and systolic pressure, when it relaxes. Thus, its value should be 120/80. From 140/90, the numbers indicate high blood pressure. Sometimes blood pressure remains below this threshold, but higher than normal levels, and this can have health consequences. Australian researchers found this in a study published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.
Brain age, influenced by blood pressure
This team from the Australian National University examined more than 2,000 brain scans, a type of medical imaging, of nearly 700 people, aged 44 to 76. For a year, their blood pressure was measured on different occasions. Thanks to the different data, they determined the brain age of the participants. They noticed that people with high blood pressure had older and therefore less healthy brains, which increased their risk of heart disease, stroke and dementia. “Participants with high blood pressure, but within the normal range, also had older-looking brains and were at risk of developing health problems“, add the scientists. Nicolas Cherbuin, author of the study, points out that this dismantles the idea that high blood pressure damages the brain.”It starts earlier, and in people who have normal blood pressure“, he specifies. According to him, an optimal blood pressure is close to 110/70.
How to limit the rise in blood pressure?
The authors of the study recall that recent work has shown that the number of people over 30 with high blood pressure has doubled worldwide. “It is important that we introduce lifestyle and diet changes early in life to prevent our blood pressure from rising too high, rather than waiting for it to become a problem“, said Walter Abhayaratna, co-author of the study. While it is generally difficult to know the exact causes of hypertension, there are aggravating factors, on which it is possible to act. For example, better It is worth avoiding eating too much salt, being stressed, smoking or physically inactive. Obesity and type 2 diabetes are also among the conditions that can make it worse.”If you have high blood pressure, you should take the opportunity to discuss with your GP ways to lower your blood pressure, including changing lifestyle factors such as diet and physical activity.”confirms the Australian researcher.
Below, Dr. Romain Boulestreau’s interview on malignant hypertension: