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Elevated Blood Pressure Could Increase Your Risk Of Dementia

BOSTON (CBS) - Even if your blood pressure is just a little bit elevated, you may be at higher risk of dementia later in life.

In a new study, researchers looked at about 10,000 people and found that 50 year olds with systolic blood pressures of 130 or greater had a 45-percent higher risk of dementia later in life, even if they didn't have evidence of heart or blood vessel-related problems.

The medical community used to consider 140/90 as the threshold for high blood pressure, but that threshold was recently lowered to 130/80. However, many patients still aren't treated until their numbers climb higher than that.

This is more evidence that 130/80 is the number to keep in mind when it comes to diagnosing and treating high blood pressure.

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