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Staying Healthy
Your brain on high blood pressure
- By Matthew Solan, Executive Editor, Harvard Men's Health Watch
High blood pressure is not just a heart problem. It also can raise your risk for strokes and cognitive decline.
People think of high blood pressure as a heart problem, as it can raise your risk for a heart attack. But it also can affect your brain health.
Blood pressure is the most important factor contributing to brain injury, often in the form of a stroke, according to Dr. Steven Greenberg, a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School. "Keeping blood pressure low can make brain injury less likely, help conserve brain function, and perhaps slow the natural decline in cognitive function."
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About the Author
Matthew Solan, Executive Editor, Harvard Men's Health Watch
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No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
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Controlling Your Blood Pressure
An alarming one in three American adults has high blood pressure. Known medically as hypertension, many people don't even know they have it, because high blood pressure has no symptoms or warning signs. But when elevated blood pressure is accompanied by abnormal cholesterol and blood sugar levels, the damage to your arteries, kidneys, and heart accelerates exponentially. Fortunately, high blood pressure is easy to detect and treat. In the Special Health Report, Controlling Your Blood Pressure, find out how to keep blood pressure in a healthy range simply by making lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, increasing activity, and eating more healthfully.
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