Keeping Your Blood Pressure in Check Can Help Reduce Chance of Dementia

Keeping your blood pressure in check may benefit you in the long run by cutting your risk of developing dementia.

Nearly half of American adults have hypertension.

According to Dawn Warner Kershner, D.O., MPH, board-certified cardiologist with The Heart Center at Mercy in Baltimore, you can walk around with very high blood pressure readings and have no idea for years until someone treats it.

Dr. Kershner noted that you should know your number no matter how old or young you are—just having hypertension increases the risk of brain aging.

"Chronic high blood pressure diminishes blood flow to the brain, and it also diminishes the brain’s ability to get rid of toxins," Dr. Kershner said. "And if you’re chronically walking around with high blood pressure, that allows those toxins to build up. That is one of the key causes of dementia."

You can have your blood pressure checked at a normal doctor's appointment or even check it yourself at home.

Avoid salty foods and be active. And if you’re on medication, make sure to take it as prescribed.

View Mercy cardiologist Dr. Dawn Kershner’s interview regarding the link between high blood pressure and dementia.