High Blood Pressure Causes Memory Loss

The list of problems that high blood pressure causes continue to lengthen.

The research, published in the current issue of Neurology, seems to indicate that chronic high blood pressure causes memory problems, even in people who are middle aged, when memory problems are not usually as prevalent as they are in the elderly.

Researchers found that for every 10 point rise in diastolic blood pressure, the risk of a person having cognitive problems were 7 percent higher. More than 20,000 people in the United States who were at least 45 years old participated in the research.  High blood pressure is defined as a reading equal to or higher than 140/90. A higher diastolic reading (the top number) may be a clue that smaller arteries in the brain are weakening. According to medical authorities, such a situation can result in subtle brain damage and memory problems.