Dr. Oz: The Alzheimer’s-Blood Pressure Connection

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The Alzheimer’s-Blood Pressure Connection

By Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Mike Roizen, MDs

Rock legends David Bowie and Freddie Mercury must have known something that science discovered only recently. In their rock anthem “Under Pressure,” they sang: “Pressure pushing down on me … Chipping around, kick my brains around the floor.”

Of course, researchers wouldn’t put it quite that way, but there is a correlation between elevated blood pressure later in life and brain health, particularly Alzheimer’s disease risk.

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A study in the journal Neurology recorded the blood pressures of 1,300 people ages 59 to 102 annually for an average of eight years.

Brain autopsies of deceased subjects then revealed a link between high blood pressure and the presence of neurofibrillary tangles, which are a characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.

A systolic (top number) blood pressure above 134 mmHG increased the odds of developing brain lesions by nearly 50%.

But according to Dr. Richard Isaacson, director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Presbyterian, any systolic reading above 120 puts you in the “new risk zone.”

The study did not find a correlation with elevated diastolic (bottom number) blood pressure and Alzheimer’s.

The good news is that lifestyle changes can help you achieve a healthy blood pressure of around 120/75.

The DASH, Mediterranean, and “What to Eat When” diets are smart starting points.

And ask your doctor about medications and at-home, self-measured blood pressure monitors; the cuff versions are usually reliable, but they should be checked against one at your doctor’s office for good measure.

About the Doctors:
Dr. Mike Roizen is chief wellness officer emeritus at Cleveland Clinic and Dr. Mehmet Oz is professor emeritus at Columbia University. Together they have written 11 New York Times bestsellers.

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