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Blood pressure and the brain: the neurology of hypertension
  1. Dearbhla M Kelly,
  2. Peter M Rothwell
  1. Centre for the Prevention of Stroke and Dementia, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Dearbhla M Kelly, Centre for the Prevention of Stroke and Dementia, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; dearbhla.kelly{at}ndcn.ox.ac.uk

Abstract

Hypertension affects more than one in four adults. The brain is an early target of hypertension-induced organ damage, and may manifest as stroke, subclinical cerebrovascular abnormalities and dementia. Hypertension-related small vessel disease can cause vascular dementia and can potentiate Alzheimer’s pathology, lowering the threshold at which signs and symptoms manifest. Many hypertensive emergencies may also have a neurological presentation, such as hypertensive encephalopathy, haemorrhagic stroke or pre-eclampsia. Here we highlight the importance of blood pressure in maintaining brain health and the brain’s role in controlling blood pressure.

  • hypertension
  • hypertensive encepha
  • stroke
  • dementia
  • sleep apnoea

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Footnotes

  • Twitter @DearbhlaKelly4

  • Contributors DMK and PMR contributed equally to the design, drafting and development of this review.

  • Funding PMR has received funding from Wellcome Trust, Wolfson Foundation, British Heart Foundation, and the National Institute for Health Research Oxford Biomedical Research Centre. DMK has received a scholarship from the Irish Nephrology Society.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Patient consent for publication Not required.

  • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; externally peer reviewed by Tom Hughes, Cardiff, UK.

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