Cognition at high-normal blood pressure

Increased systolic blood pressure (sBP) predisposes to stroke and cognitive impairment. The relation between sBP and vascular events is now known to be linear down to a pressure below 115/70mmHg. Conversely, the relation between sBP and cognition is generally taken to be J-shaped, with impairment occurring only in severe hypertension. We tested this assumption in 321 normotensive and hypertensive community dwelling individuals aged 44 to 80 years (median: 64 years, 156 male, sBP: 100–250mmHg) with a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. Applying a principal component analysis we first extracted five com…