Can Blood Pressure Affect Memory, And What Can I Do About It?

May 4, 2009 -- Question: Can blood pressure affect memory, and is there something I can do about it?

Answer: Research has shown that blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes, obesity, elevated cholesterol, can affect your memory and your thinking ability in the future. In particular, if those factors are active in midlife, when people are in their 40s and 50s, there is good evidence that this may have an impact on your ability to remember and perhaps your likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease when you turn 60 and 70.

Consequently, we do encourage people to manage their cardiovascular risk factors for the purpose of preventing further cognitive loss.