Midlife Orthostatic Hypotension May Increase Risk of Dementia, Stroke

People with orthostatic hypotension (an excessive drop in blood pressure when standing up that can lead to dizziness and fainting) in midlife may be more likely than those without the condition to develop stroke and dementia later in life, according to astudy inNeurology.“The presence of orthostasis, especially in midlife, might identify individuals in whom more careful monitoring or risk factor management might be warranted,” wrote lead author Andreea Rawlings, Ph.D., of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and colleagues.These findings come from an analysis of data from 11,709 participants without a history of heart disease or stroke who participated in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study. At baseline, 552 (4.7%) of these participants had orthostatic hypotension, defined as at least a 20 mm Hg drop in systolic blood pressure or 10 mm Hg drop in diastolic blood pressure upon transitioning from lying down to standing up.During an average follow-up of 24 years, 1,068 of the total participants developed dementia and 842 had an ischemic stroke. Compared with people without orthostatic hypotension, those with orthostatic hypotension were about 1.54 times more likely to develop dementia, and 2.08 times more likely to have a stroke. Since strokes are themselves dementia risk factors, Rawlings and colleagues did a second analysis that excluded 145 participants who developed a dementia after having a stroke. Even after this exclusion, orthostatic hypotens...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Alzheimer's Alzheimer's risk factors dementia dizziness orthostatic hypotension stroke Source Type: research