Visit-to-Visit Blood Pressure Variability and Alzheimer’s Disease: Links and Risks

Article type: Review Article

Authors: Nagai, Michiaki^{; *} | Dote, Keigo | Kato, Masaya | Sasaki, Shota | Oda, Noboru | Kagawa, Eisuke | Nakano, Yoshinori | Yamane, Aya | Higashihara, Tasuku | Miyauchi, Shunsuke | Tsuchiya, Akane

Affiliations: Department of Cardiology, Hiroshima City Asa Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Michiaki Nagai, MD, Department of Cardiology, Hiroshima City Asa Hospital, 2-1-1, Kabeminami, Aaskita-ku, Hiroshima 731-0293, Japan. Tel.: +81 82 815 5211; Fax: +81 82 814 1791; E-mail: nagai10m@r6.dion.ne.jp.

Abstract: While hypertension has been shown to be a risk factor for vascular dementia, several studies have also demonstrated that hypertension also increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Although the relationship between visit-to-visit blood pressure variability (VVV) and cognitive impairment, including AD, have been provided, the mechanisms remain poorly understood. This review paper focuses on the relationship of VVV with AD and summarizes the pathophysiology underlying that relationship, which appears to be mediated by arterial stiffness.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, amyloid beta, cognitive impairment, hypertension, visit-to-visit blood pressure variability

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-161172

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 515-526, 2017