Assessment
High Blood Pressure and Memory Loss: What’s the Link?
Bringing your numbers down can benefit your brain
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Key takeaways
- Clinical guidelines now strongly recommend treating high blood pressure to help prevent cognitive decline and dementia.
- Studies found that lowering blood pressure reduced the risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia-related outcomes.
- Home monitoring and proper measurement techniques can help people keep blood pressure under better control.
Most people know that high blood pressure can lead to heart attacks and strokes — two very good reasons to keep it under control. But here’s another, equally important reason: Treating high blood pressure may reduce your risk of cognitive decline.
Researchers have been looking at the connection between high blood pressure and brain health for decades. Ongoing high blood pressure may damage the blood vessels in the brain, making them more likely to rupture and bleed or to harden and cause blockages, says Dr. Mitchell Elkind, chief science officer for brain health and stroke at the American Heart Association and a professor of neurology and epidemiology at Columbia University.
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“Even tiny bits of damage to the vessels, over time, add up. It’s like the brain’s version of heart failure — a progressive decline in function as time goes by,” Elkind says.
“The accumulation of evidence has increased to the point that, for the first time, the clinical practice guidelines from the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association and other organizations strongly recommend treatment of elevated blood pressure to prevent cognitive decline and dementia,” Elkind says.
Video: 2 Surprising Things That Can Cause High Blood Pressure
Keep blood pressure below 120/80
For most adults, a blood pressure reading below 120/80 is considered healthy. Yet about 72 percent of adults 60 and older have high blood pressure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only about 3 in 10 have their condition under control. But there’s good news: Research has found that treating high blood pressure — with medication, if necessary, as well as through changes in diet and exercise — can help protect your memory and thinking skills as you age.
In a 2025 follow-up analysis of the SPRINT trial, which randomized 9,361 adults with high blood pressure ages 50 and older, lowering blood pressure reduced the risk of cognitive impairment. Participants in the group assigned to lower their systolic blood pressure (the top number, which measures the pressure against your artery walls when your heart beats) to below 120 for an average of 3.3 years had a 13 percent lower risk of mild cognitive impairment, or MCI. This protection against memory loss was still in effect over a median follow-up of seven years.
These findings suggest that “controlling blood pressure earlier in life likely has a long-term benefit,” says study author Dr. Jeff Williamson, professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine.
Importantly, 30 percent of participants in the trial were Black and 11 percent were Hispanic. “The patients were highly representative of our nation, and blood pressure control was effective across all groups,” Williamson says. “This is especially important to Black Americans because high blood pressure is far more common in Black people, as are the complications of high blood pressure, including memory impairment and dementia.”
A study in China also showed the benefits of blood pressure control for brain health. In the study of 33,995 adults ages 40 and older with untreated high blood pressure, about half were randomly assigned to receive blood pressure medication and health coaching. After four years, they cut their risk of dementia by 15 percent compared with the control group. The results were published in Nature Medicine in 2025.
The bottom line, Williamson says, is that any amount of blood pressure lowering at any age “is likely to benefit your brain.”
What you should know
- Keep tabs on your blood pressure at home. People who use home blood pressure monitors maintain better control of their blood pressure numbers than those who don’t, says Elkind, possibly because blood pressure can be checked more regularly and in a less stressful environment.
- Get a more accurate reading at the doctor’s office. Elkind offers these tips, which really apply to both home and office readings. Make sure your bladder is empty, so you’re not tense and clenching your muscles. Don’t drink a caffeinated beverage within 30 minutes of an office visit. The blood pressure cuff should not be placed over heavy clothing, such as a sweater, as that can affect the reading. Rest your arm at about heart level during the reading — don’t let it dangle. If your reading is unusually elevated, retake it in five or 10 minutes, to be sure it’s accurate.
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The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.
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