How Is Dementia Linked To High Blood Pressure And Alzheimer's Diseases?

I now have a new worry and that is dementia and its link to high blood pressure. Medical Journals states that this disease is a progressive loss of memory and mental capacity that affects our ability to function.

A noted outcome of high blood pressure is memory loss and an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, due to adverse effects on our mental functioning. It is also believed that the adverse effects on the brain are caused by the relentless pounding on the small vessels within the brain.

My grandmother had dementia, and on one memorable occasion she was out with me and my older sister when she went missing. She just started acting up, with us holding onto her arms and she is fighting us off and ran away. She was very strong.

With this disease, people forget faces, names, where they presently live, and so many other easy things to remember information to us who are not mentally affected.

Among the first individuals who did a study on the mental function and aging risk factors of our mental deterioration was Dr. David Snowdon, of the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, discovered these significant risk factor.

This condition is not only for individuals of advanced aged, it is also not a normal consequence of aging.  Also some types are reversal and is less common, but with proper diagnosis and treatment you can return to normal mental function.

Another of the reasons for why high blood pressure hastens mental deterioration is that it dramatically increases the risk of a stroke.

But I want you to always keeping in mind when dealing with a loved one or an individual that's affected is to remember that to keep your memory function at optimal level we need focus on three aspects of their biology. And those are:

• The Brain.
• Blood Supply.
• And Neurochemicals.

For me I sometimes think what if there was a pill out there you can just swallow when your loved one is in the center of a dementia hit.

When it comes to brain problems, it is not easy, it's not easy to diagnose yourself or a loved one either, because we all struggle at times with memory lapse and it is a natural part of aging, but there's a check list of some of the early signs of Alzheimer's that may be able to help us decide if further attention is needed before our love one goes lost.

• Ask the same questions over and over.


• Forget how to do something that they normally can do easily. My sister-in-law would leave the house driving to somewhere and completely forget where she's going. A friend found her in her car crying and confused - luckily that's all that happened that day.


• Think they live somewhere else from where they presently are living.

At the same time, I want you to also know that there are several types that are irreversible.  So you ask why am I worried?

Reversible Dementia

Depression, reactions to some medications, thyroid disease, Vitamin B12 deficiency, head injury, alcoholism - and we all have a drink, and infections such as Lyme disease are all reversible conditions.

Though all of the above can be life changing they are all treatable, so I am not worried about those types.

But these...

Irreversible Conditions

There are several types of irreversible conditions, such as Parkinson and Huntington diseases.  But, the most common form is Alzheimer's accounting for up to 70% of all cases, as stated by the Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide.  

As stated by Kenneth S. Kosik, MD, every person on this planet is at risk for developing Alzheimer's disease. This he said is true regardless of your age, family history, or your current state of health. That's why using these memory stimulating resources will help you to outsmart this disease.

How Does High Blood Pressure Relate To Dementia?

Now a new study by Dr. Walter Koroshetz, Deputy Director of NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke states that hypertension is at the top of the list of causing this disease.

How scary is that with more than half the world's population is under stress and have high blood pressure, myself included.  So protecting your heart and maintaining a healthy brain will boost our cognitive function.

Brain Scarring - The Link

High blood pressure readings of 140/90 and higher tends to weaken arteries and also seems to spur on these diseases.

Scientists did a research and noticed that hypertension individuals brains showed a type of scarring, known as white matter lesions, that was linked to the later development of Alzheimer's disease.

The white matter is the connective network of tiny blood vessels of systems within our brains that allows the cells to communicate with each other.  Their researched studies showed that some of the same signs for heart disease like high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes increased the risk.

Scientists first thought that the link was with vascular dementia, which is a series of mini strokes which can affect enough brain tissue to impair thinking and not the scarier classic Alzheimer's disease.

Now they are realizing that most of their patients have a mix of the two.

Now we have a new worry of the effects of having increased blood pressure and its links to these diseases and the quality of our lives as we get older.  Since hearing of this study, I have increased by exercising and I'm on a mission to keep my blood pressure under control.

FYI - As the brain ages white matter develops.  This seems to be a normal process of life.

Don't miss this related page for even more Information:

• High Blood Pressure And Dementia

Return to What is High Blood Pressure from Dementia

---

Newsletter Opt-In And Thank You Gift

---

---

---