News - Hypertension Week of October 5, 2003/ Vol. 2 No. 40

Study: High Blood Pressure Does Not Speed Mental Decline

High blood pressure does not speed a decline in a person's ability to perform certain mental tasks, according to a study reported in the September issue of Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition.

Past studies have hinted that people with high blood pressure do worse on mental tasks than individuals with normal blood pressure. However, these studies have often included patients who were taking medications and who had conditions other than high blood pressure.

In this study, Duke University Medical Center researchers recruited 96 volunteers, including 48 with untreated high blood pressure and 48 with normal blood pressure.

The patients were divided into three groups based on age. Besides having their blood pressure checked repeatedly, the participants were tested on how well they could recall letters of the alphabet they had been shown.

Although changes in mental performance occurred that were linked to elevated blood pressure, the researchers said they were unlikely to interfere with mental functioning during everyday life.

"However, the changes we recorded in the laboratory may represent a situation that could become clinically significant when other diseases, especially those that are cardiovascular in nature, are included," said Duke's David Madden, a cognitive psychologist and researcher in aging.

Madden said the significance of these cognitive effects would become clearer as additional evidence is obtained regarding the changes in brain structure and function that typically accompany chronically elevated blood pressure.

Other sources: Duke University Medical Center