More Aggressive Blood Pressure Control Benefits Brains of Older Adults

A study published in Circulation demonstrates that more aggressive daily blood pressure control improves brain health in older adults, reports Medical Xpress . The researchers tracked 199 seniors with hypertension who were 75 years and older over three years. The team monitored the potential benefits of an intensive anti-hypertensive medication regime to obtain a 24-hour systolic blood pressure target of less than 130 mmHg compared to the standard measure of about 145 mmHg. A significant reduction in the accrual of brain white matter disease in the intensive treatment cohort was observed. Three years later, this accumulation was reduced by up to 40 percent in the those receiving intensive blood pressure therapy compared to those on standard therapy. Moreover, the intensive treatment cohort had fewer cardiovascular events including heart attack, stroke, and hospitalization from heart failure than the standard cohort. "The results . . . demonstrate that a lower ambulatory blood pressure goal for older adults is likely to conserve future brain function and health," concluded University of Connecticut School of Medicine Professor Leslie Wolfson.