Blood Pressure Associated with Lesions<\/b><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/b>A study was published in the journal Neurology in which the researchers asserted that individuals with brain areas where tissues were dead due to limited blood supply likely suffered from brain disease. The autopsied brain also indicated the presence of Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n
Dr. Zoe Arvanitakis said that \u201chigh blood pressure has already been associated with dementia and stroke. However, the focus of our study was on linking different values of blood pressure with more factors rather than just the common stroke and dementia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking at brain tissue<\/b><\/p>\n
Blood pressure measures the force of blood flow in our capillaries, arteries, and veins. When this force is too great, the pressure is said to be high while too weak force is an indicator of low blood pressure.<\/p>\n
Normal blood pressure lies within the 140\/90 range. 140 indicate the systolic pressure while the 90 represents diastolic pressure (the hearts pressure at rest). Anything above this is high. Low blood pressure is undefined since there is no number than can be said to be too low given that it is not accompanied with troubling symptoms like nausea, dizziness or problems concentrating.<\/p>\n
High pressure increases risks<\/b><\/p>\n
Arvanitakis said that in their study, they looked at blood pressure from different angles such as the way declining blood pressure could be associated with brain lesions at death.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found that high blood pressure increased one\u2019s risk of developing brain lesions.\u201d<\/p>\n
For instance, a systolic pressure of 147 was equated to 46% high risk of having one or more lesions. Similarly, there was a relationship between diastolic pressure and lesions. For instance, 79 diastolic pressure within individuals aged 71+ years translated to 28% high risk for one or more lesions.<\/p>\n
Arvanitakis and colleagues found that when one had a high systolic pressure, they risked developing higher tangles, a key indicator Alzheimer\u2019s disease. No relationship with amyloid, another sign of brain degeneration, was found.<\/p>\n
The researchers said that this finding is difficult to interpret and that it required more examination before an affirmative conclusion could be made.<\/p>\n