According to a new study report released by the Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, high blood pressure in women can be dangerous as it may lead them to developing dementia by increasing white matter abnormalities in the brain.

The Women's Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS) released data that points towards this fact after researching a total of 1403 women, all of who were 65 years or older.  Lewis Kuller, MD, Dr PH, professor of epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, said, “Hypertension is or high blood pressure can lead to serious health problems. Proper control of blood pressure, which remains generally poor, is very important to prevent dementia as women age”.

The researchers analyzed the effect of hormone therapy on thinking and memory and the results revealed that women, who, at the beginning of the study, were hypertensive i.e. showed a blood pressure of 140/90 or more, significantly had more white matter lesions on their MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) after eight years as compared to subjects with standard blood pressure.

Whether lowering of blood pressure can prevent white matter abnormalities in the brain, the researchers are not certain, and suggested carrying out more clinical trials to validate their findings.