"That's because heart health and brain health are intrinsically linked. High blood pressure, in particular, can damage brain cells, and it's a significant risk factor for stroke and dementia. When blood pressure is too high, it places stress on the walls of arteries in the brain. Over time, that added stress can cause the blood vessel walls to thicken, obstructing blood flow."
"In other cases, the increased pressure causes the artery walls to thin and leak blood into the brain. These changes to the blood vessels can sometimes cause a large stroke to occur. More commonly, the damage leads to micro-strokes and micro-hemorrhages, which cause fewer immediate problems and often go unnoticed. But if someone has hypertension for years or decades, these injuries can build up, and the person may start to experience cognitive impairment."
Heart health and brain health are intrinsically linked. High blood pressure can damage brain cells and is a significant risk factor for stroke and dementia. Excessive blood pressure stresses brain artery walls; over time walls can thicken and obstruct blood flow or thin and leak, causing hemorrhages. These changes can produce large strokes or, more commonly, accumulate as micro-strokes and micro-hemorrhages that often go unnoticed but lead to cognitive impairment after years of hypertension. Hypertension is frequently symptomless. Managing blood pressure in midlife through medication or lifestyle changes reduces long-term brain damage. Knowing and acting on blood pressure numbers is essential.
Read at www.nytimes.com
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