The Biggest Predictor of Alzheimer’s Disease

Do you have this Alzheimer’s risk factor?

Shrinking is great when you’re talking about your waistline. 

It’s not so great when you’re talking about your muscles, your height… or your brain. 

And unless you’re taking proactive steps to stop it, your brain can start shrinking with age. 

You can’t see it happening, but you can’t miss the effects. 

Depending on the amount of atrophy, it can start as “senior moments,” and progress to language problems, behavior changes, memory loss, and even dementia. 

The bad news is that up to 50 percent of people over 50 have a condition that can increase your risk of brain shrinkage. 

The good news is that there’s something you can do about it.

You know that blood pressure and heart health go hand in hand.  

But here’s what else you should know: Hypertension can also have devastating effects on your brain. 

Studies have shown that when you have high blood pressure in middle age, you’re at an increased risk of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s as you get older. 

In fact, high blood pressure predicts Alzheimer’s disease even more than having the Alzheimer’s gene! 

You can’t choose your genes, but you CAN make lifestyle choices that impact your blood pressure. 

The reason why high blood pressure has such harmful effects on your brain is because of its impact on your blood vessels. 

People who have high blood pressure have stiff, inflexible arteries. This means that with every beat of your heart, the pressure can damage the blood vessels in the brain and cause tiny microbleeds. 

Not only are these microbleeds associated with cognitive impairment, but they can also cause the death of brain tissue. 

Less brain tissue = smaller brain. 

This tissue death can also cause holes in the brain, as well as silent strokes. 

All of these assaults on the brain literally shrink your brain, especially the area called the hippocampus, which is responsible for important functions like learning and memory. 

One study that used MRIs to look at the brain found a significant association between visualized arterial disease and brain shrinkage.  

The same study also showed that those with visual signs of arterial disease were TWICE as likely to lose brain volume. 

So while high blood pressure is obviously bad for your heart, there’s no denying its impact on your brain as well.