Do You Have Pre-Hypertension? - Men's Health News

Even slightly high numbers could spell trouble.

If your blood pressure is creeping upward, dementia may be in your future. According to researchers at UC Davis, high blood pressure can prematurely age your brain by more than 7 years.

Using MRI scans, researchers found that subjects with high blood pressure had 9 percent less gray brain matter than people with normal blood pressure. Based on brain matter loss, scientists calculated that the brains of people with high and slightly elevated blood pressure were prematurely aged by 7.2 years and 3.3 years respectively.

The natural decline of gray matter in your hippocampus?the part of your brain responsible for memory?is behind age-induced memory loss. More severe declines are linked with dementia. (Stay sharp with these 27 Ways to Power Up Your Brain.)

What?s going on? Researchers aren?t sure, but one explanation is that high blood pressure damages the cells in the lining of your arteries, causing them to harden and collect plaque. This build-up reduces the blood flow to your brain, slowly starving it of nutrients, says the study?s senior author, Charles DeCarli, M.D., director of the UC Davis Alzheimer?s Disease Center.

Meanwhile, the constricted arteries exacerbate the differences in your blood pressure that occur with each heartbeat. This damages your brain by temporarily reducing and then rapidly increasing the amount of blood it receives. Without a steady stream of blood, the cells in your brain become malnourished and die, Dr. DeCarli explains.

For now, it?s unclear if the damage is reversible, Dr. DeCarli says. To prevent cognitive decline down the road, get ahead of the symptoms. If your systolic (top) reading is less than 120 and your diastolic (bottom) reading is less than 80, you?re in the clear. But if your systolic reading is between 120-139 or your diastolic reading is between 80-89, you have slightly elevated blood pressure. Anything over those numbers, and you have high blood pressure. (Has your doc told you to take a statin? You might have other options. Click here to see how one man got off his meds with a few simple changes.)

Your solution: Other than aiming for the obvious cures?losing weight, cutting back on alcohol and salt?squeeze a rubber ball. According to a study in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, people who squeezed a ball for 2 minutes four times a day over 8 weeks lowered their systolic blood pressure by 15 points and their diastolic pressure by five. ?The blood-pressure response to grip training is greater than to aerobic exercise,? says lead author Maureen MacDonald, Ph.D.

If you liked this story, then you?ll love these:

Source: http://news.menshealth.com/blood-pressure-brain/2012/11/07/

mark sanchez obama open mic jefferson county colorado extenze tenacious d steve smith zou bisou bisou