(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A new study finds getting your blood pressure under control helps more than your heart.
Government-funded research published in the journal Neurology extends the benefits of intensely controlling blood pressure in reducing the risk for dementia.
Dr. Darren Gitelman, director of cognitive disorders at Advocate Medical Group, says colleagues at Advocate Wake Forest followed people seven years later and saw benefits well after they stopped the intense treatment of medication.
“There's no time like the present to start management of blood pressure, you know, control it as best you can. Even if it's not perfect, try to get it to a low level. You will reap the benefits even years later.”
He remembers how high blood pressure was often referred to as the silent killer because in most cases people have no idea if they have it.
“Unless your blood pressure is wildly out of control, you really can't feel it. So people don't, usually with moderately increased blood pressure, you don't usually have a headache and you're… not necessarily going to have chest pain or anything else.”
Dr. Gitelman encourages people to pay attention in their 40s and 50s because the brain changes that cause Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia start 25 years before.
He says if you don’t know your blood pressure or go to the doctor, you can buy a home monitor.
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
Sign up and follow WBBM Newsradio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Bluesky