Neurologists are finding that dementia is a vascular disease, which means high blood pressure can cause a little damage in lots of small areas of the brain, Nesbitt said. “And because you’ve got a little damage in a lot of places, then you have the sum total of all of those areas that just don’t function so well anymore.”
Townsend said studies suggest people whose blood pressure is better controlled tend to score better on tests of cognitive function.
Lowering blood pressure isn’t a cure-all for brain health, he said, but prevention is key. “The goal is to preserve it at its high level when you’re 30 or 40 years of age.”
Black Americans need to pay special attention.
Hypertension is far more common in Black adults in the U.S. than in adults of other races and ethnicities. Yet it’s less of a problem for people of African heritage living in other countries. “Which makes you question why it is so much more prevalent in America than in other places,” Nesbitt said.
Systemic problems, such as the fact that Black Americans are more likely to lack access to healthy food or safe places to exercise, are significant factors. So is the stress of dealing with racism.
“What we are looking at is a manifestation of the living conditions of Black Americans,” she said. “And because we have rampant examples of differences in how we live, and how we experience the world every day, those things have a toll on our physical health. And blood pressure’s one of the first things that we see that makes that difference very evident.”