A new study from the University of Southern California suggests that how your blood pressure varies from heartbeat to heartbeat may be just as important as your blood pressure readings in particular. brain health For elderly people.
The researchers found that older people with greater changes in blood pressure from beat to beat had smaller brain volume in areas associated with memory and higher levels of proteins associated with nerve cell damage.
“Even if your blood pressure is well controlled, using medicine“Rapid fluctuations in blood pressure with each heartbeat are associated with poor memory, brain atrophy, and signs of brain cell damage,” study lead author Daniel Nation, a professor at the University of Southern California, told Fox News Digital.
“Blood pressure is not static; it constantly adapts to the body’s needs,” he added in a press release. “But as we get older, that regulation may become less accurate.”
The study involved 105 adults between the ages of 55 and 89. The researchers continuously measured the participants’ blood pressure for several minutes while they underwent brain scans.
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Specifically, they measured the stiffness of arteries in adults and how stiff they were. blood pressure It changes with each heartbeat.
Even though participants’ average blood pressure seemed healthy, those with the most unstable readings showed clear signs of brain aging, combined with stiffer arteries, the study found.
Specifically, they have smaller areas of the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex, which are among the first brain regions to be affected. alzheimer’s disease. They also had higher blood levels of neurofilament light, a biomarker of nerve cell damage.
These findings were reported to be significant even after accounting for factors such as age, gender, and mean blood pressure, suggesting that not only overall blood pressure but variability itself may be an important risk factor.
The study results were first published online in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Diet on October 17th.
Doctors have long warned that high blood pressure increases the risk of dementia, but the USC study looks specifically at how moment-to-moment instability can be a cause for concern.
Nation said researchers were surprised to find that these rapid fluctuations in blood pressure were associated with symptoms such as: brain injury“regardless of whether they have hypertension or are being treated with antihypertensive medications.”
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In other words, someone could get a “good” reading. examination room And there are still dangerous spikes and dips, which research suggests can silently stress the brain’s delicate blood vessels. Over time, that instability can lead to memory decline and neurodegeneration.
However, the researchers stressed that this study only shows a correlation, not causation, and further research is needed.
“The findings are correlations in a cross-sectional study, and they are like a snapshot in time,” Nation said. ”Future research We need to investigate how these rapid blood pressure fluctuations change over time and whether they predict future brain shrinkage, brain cell damage, and memory decline. ”
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The research team notes that there are currently no treatments specific to these fluctuations.
“However, it is still very important that people monitor their condition.” blood pressure “Take blood pressure-lowering medications as prescribed to reduce the risk of brain damage and memory loss,” Nation said.
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“Rapid fluctuations in blood pressure are not adequately addressed by existing treatments that focus on lowering average blood pressure, so developing treatments should be a priority,” he added.
