Cognitive decline and dementia in the elderly hypertensive
The prevention of cognitive disorders and dementia represents a major challenge in the coming years. The identification and management of the risk factors for these incapacitating conditions must therefore be a priority in order to define the best tools for early prevention. Studies over the past fe...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publications
2002-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System |
| Online Access: | http://jra.sagepub.com/content/3/1_suppl/32.full.pdf |
| Summary: | The prevention of cognitive disorders and dementia represents a major challenge in the coming years. The identification and management of the risk factors for these incapacitating conditions must therefore be a priority in order to define the best tools for early prevention. Studies over the past few years indicate that hypertension is involved not only in cerebro-vascular morbidity and mortality, but also in the pathogenesis of cognitive disorders and dementia. The existence of cognitive deficits and dementia syndromes in certain hypertensive elderly subjects has led a number of authors to study the relationships between cognitive functions and blood pressure (BP). Although the results of cross-sectional studies diverge, longitudinal studies show that subjects’ cognitive level is often inversely proportional to their BP values measured 15 or 20 years previously. The higher their BP used to be, the poorer their cognitive function. Data from certain recent therapeutic trials suggest that antihypertensive treatment might prevent the occurrence of dementia (of all aetiologies) in hypertensive patients aged 60 years and over. In this context, the effect of antihypertensive treatment on cognitive functions should represent one of the main criteria of evaluation of future morbidity and mortality studies, some of which are already in progress, with results available in the near future. |
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| ISSN: | 1470-3203 1752-8976 |