ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½

Newswise — WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Jan. 21, 2025 – A new study from researchers at shows that only 3½ years of intensive blood pressure control continues to significantly reduce the risk of mild cognitive impairment or dementia long after stopping this treatment in adults with hypertension and high cardiovascular risk.  

The findings are published online in , the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, and highlight the sustained benefits of aggressive blood pressure management in preventing cognitive decline. 

The National Institutes of Health-supported Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) Memory and Cognition in Decreased Hypertension (SPRINT MIND) study involved 9,361 participants aged 50 years and older at more than 100 clinic sites in the United States and Puerto Rico. Participants were randomly assigned to a systolic blood pressure goal of either less than 120 mm Hg (intensive treatment) or less than 140 mm Hg (standard treatment). 

Participants were followed for a median of seven years, with cognitive assessments conducted both in-person and via telephone. Participants were then classified as having no cognitive impairment, mild cognitive impairment or probable dementia. 

“We found that the intensive treatment group had a sustained lower incidence of developing cognitive impairment compared to those in the standard treatment group,” said , professor of biostatistics and data science at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the study’s corresponding author. 

Researchers specifically found that participants in the intensive treatment group had a lower rate of mild cognitive impairment and a lower combined rate of mild cognitive impairment or probable dementia. 

In 2015, showed that intensive blood pressure management reduced cardiovascular disease and lowered the risk of death by 30-40% in persons with hypertension. SPRINT was stopped early due to the success of the trial in reducing cardiovascular disease. As a result, participants were on intensive blood pressure lowering treatment for a shorter period than originally planned. The authors at that time concluded that the shorter time made it difficult to accurately determine the role of intensive blood pressure control in dementia cases. 

Five years later, in 2019, , led by Wake Forest University School of Medicine, showed that there was a significantly reduced risk of developing mild cognitive impairment for up to five years following the initial 3.3 years of intensive blood pressure control.  

These latest SPRINT MIND findings showed the same previously observed significant reduction in cognitive impairment rates, but over a longer period—at least seven years.  

“Our study shows that intensive blood pressure control is an important strategy in the prevention of cognitive impairment, a major cause of loss of independence in older adults,” said , professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. “Lowering your blood pressure to more aggressive targets can improve the quality of life and extend active life for individuals with hypertension.” 

The study was supported by NIH grant R01AG055606 and the Alzheimer’s Association. SPRINT was supported by the NIH including the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the National Institute on Aging, and the National Insitute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke under grants HHSN268200900040C, HHSN268200900046C, HHSN268200900047C, HHSN268200900048C, HHSN268200900049C and A HL-13-002-001. 

###

Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist () is a preeminent academic health system based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and part of , the third-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, which was created through the combination of and Advocate Aurora Health. Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist’s two main components are an integrated clinical system – anchored by Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, an 885-bed tertiary-care hospital in Winston-Salem – that includes , five community hospitals, more than 300 primary and specialty care locations and more than 2,700 physicians; and , the academic core of Advocate Health and a recognized leader in experiential medical education and groundbreaking research that includes , a commercialization enterprise focused on advancing health care through new medical technologies and biomedical discovery. Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist employs more than 22,000 teammates, part of Advocate Health’s 155,000 teammates. Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist provided a record-setting $1.2 billion in community benefit in 2023, which includes unreimbursed care, financial assistance, education and research, and community health improvement. Follow us on , and .