Hypertension as a Cause of Dementia

Abstract

Much attention has been paid to kidneys and heart as targets of end-organ damage due to hypertension� However, both large and small artery brain vasculature are probably more vulnerable to this end-organ damage� Many prospective studies have addressed the relationship between high blood pressure (BP) and memory decline. The overall impression does suggest that midlife hypertension has a strong association with late-life dementia of both vascular dementia (VaD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) type. The aim of this article is to review the available literature on the subject of hypertension as a cause of dementia�