Blood pressure drop on standing 'may be linked to dementia'

Conclusion
The causes of Alzheimer's – the most common type of dementia – are not well understood, despite much research.
However, we do know that factors like blood pressure, blood flow to the brain and cardiovascular health are linked to the risk of vascular dementia in particular.
In people with vascular dementia, brain scans often show up small areas of stroke where the brain has been starved of oxygen.
This study adds more weight to the idea that constant blood flow to the brain, bringing brain cells the oxygen they need, is important in maintaining a healthy brain as we get older.
But the study has some limitations, and the results are not as clear-cut as some media reports suggest.
The 15% increase in relative risk between those with and without PH is not large and was on the borderline of being statistically significant, meaning it could be a chance finding.
When the researchers split the data to look separately at the risk of getting Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia, rather than the combined chance of getting either type, the figures were not strong enough to show a statistically significant difference.
Although the researchers took account of many factors that might have affected their results, it's possible they were affected by confounding factors not measured in the study.
For example, people with PH are more likely to experience falls and falls might cause brain injury, which the researchers speculate could increase the chances of dementia...

Source: NHS News Feed - October 12, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Heart/lungs Source Type: news