New statement from American Heart Association warns of link
TUESDAY, Oct. 11, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Midlife hypertension may increase risk for dementia later in life, according to a new scientific statement published online Oct. 10 in Hypertension.
Experts were selected to contribute to the statement, and were assigned topics relevant to their areas of expertise. The team reviewed the literature and summarized the available data.
The authors write that there is strong evidence of a deleterious influence of midlife hypertension on late-life cognitive function. However, the cognitive impact of late-life hypertension is less clear. The group concluded that there were insufficient data to make evidence-based recommendations.
“The upcoming release of the results of the SPRINT-MIND trial may help fill some of these knowledge gaps,” according to the statement. “Despite numerous outstanding questions and caveats, personalized treatment of hypertension, taking into account age, sex, APOE genotype, metabolic traits, comorbidities, etc., remains a most promising and eminently feasible approach to safeguard vascular health and, as a consequence, brain heath.”
One author disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
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