- New research shows that there may be a link between high blood pressure at night and dementia for older men.
- Having higher blood pressure at night is part of a process called reverse dipping.
- This may disrupt sleep and increase risk of dementia in the long term.
Researchers are increasingly learning how hypertension or high blood pressure is linked to the risk of developing certain forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.
This week a new study published in the medical journal Hypertension found that older men who have higher blood pressure readings at night may be at higher risk for certain types of dementia.
“The link between hypertension and Alzheimer’s disease has been known for years and our study makes a further step by focusing on the circadian pattern of blood pressure and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” study author Xiao Tan, PhD, postdoctoral researcher at Uppsala University, told Healthline.
Blood pressure can vary throughout the day but the lowest point is traditionally at night. This drop in blood pressure at night is called dipping. However, for some people, this pattern is reversed and the nighttime blood pressure is higher than it is in the daytime, a phenomenon called reverse dipping.
“High blood pressure at night has been linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease events, like heart attack, stroke, hospitalization for heart failure, and cognitive dysfunction,” said Dr. Joshua A. Beckman, director of vascular medicine and co-director of the Vanderbilt Vascular Biology Center at the Vanderbilt Medical Center.
Source: healthline