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FRIDAY, Aug. 14, 2020<\/p>\n
Feeling woozy when you stand up may be a sign of an increased risk of developing dementia<\/a>, a new study suggests.<\/p>\n Doctors call this feeling “orthostatic hypotension<\/a>,” and it occurs when there’s a sudden drop in blood pressure<\/a> as you stand, explained a team of researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).<\/p>\n The researchers found a connection between orthostatic hypotension<\/a> and later onset of dementia<\/a> with a drop in systolic blood pressure<\/a> of at least 15 mm Hg, but not diastolic blood pressure or blood pressure overall. Systolic blood pressure is the top number in a blood pressure reading.<\/p>\n The finding suggests that “people’s blood pressure when they move from sitting to standing should be monitored,” UCSF researcher Dr. Laure Rouch said in a news release from the American Academy of Neurology. “It’s possible that controlling these blood pressure drops could be a promising way to help preserve people’s thinking and memory skills as they age.”<\/p>\n Rouch cautioned that this study couldn’t prove that orthostatic hypotension<\/a> causes dementia<\/a>, only that there appears to be an association.<\/p>\n In the study, her team tracked the medical history of more than 2,100 people who averaged 73 years of age and did not have dementia<\/a> at the beginning of the study. Over the next 12 years, 22% of these individuals developed dementia<\/a>.<\/p>\n Those with systolic orthostatic hypotension<\/a> were nearly 40% more likely to develop dementia<\/a> than those who didn’t have the condition, Rouch’s group reported recently in the journal Neurology<\/i>.<\/p>\n Put another way, the study found that 26% of participants with systolic orthostatic hypotension<\/a> developed dementia, compared with 21% of those who didn’t have the condition.<\/p>\n After adjusting for certain health factors — such as diabetes<\/a>, smoking<\/a> and alcohol<\/a> use — those with systolic orthostatic hypotension<\/a> still had 37% higher odds of developing dementia, the research showed. And people whose systolic blood pressure changed the most were more likely to develop dementia than people whose readings were more stable.<\/p>\n Among those whose systolic pressure varied, 24% with the most fluctuation developed dementia, compared with 19% of those with the least fluctuation, the researchers found. Those whose systolic pressure varied the most were 35% more likely to develop dementia than those whose pressure was more stable, the findings showed.<\/p>\n How might dizziness<\/a> upon standing impact your odds for dementia? Cardiologist Dr. Guy Mintz has some theories.<\/p>\n “The mechanism of this association is unknown, but it is reasonable to suspect that multiple low blood pressure<\/a> ‘insults’ to the brain could cause cumulative damage,” said Mintz, who directs cardiovascular health at Northwell Health’s Sandra Atlas Bass Heart<\/a> Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y. “Other mechanisms postulated involve direct damage to the blood vessels or progressive stiffness<\/a> of the arteries.”<\/p>\n Whatever the background causes, Mintz believes that “doctors should be aware of this relationship, because it represents an opportunity to help older patients on multiple hypertensive drugs<\/a> that have a change in the systolic pressure with positional changes. Older patients are usually on multiple medications for high blood pressure<\/a> and this simple positional maneuver can identify patients at increased risk for dementia, and the medications could be fine-tuned.”<\/p>\n — Steven Reinberg<\/p>\n![\"MedicalNews\"](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/HealthDay\/healthday.png\")
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