Intensive blood pressure control cuts 7-year dementia risk by 15%

ISLAMABAD: Past studies have linked cardiovascular disease to a higher risk of dementia.
Some heart issues linked to a higher risk for dementia include hypertension, or high blood pressure.
A new study found that community blood pressure-lowering interventions may help not only reduce cardiovascular disease risk, but also dementia risk.
Past studies have linked cardiovascular disease to a higher risk of dementia — a group of neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, that impact a person’s memory and thinking skills.
Some heart issues linked to a higher risk for dementia include coronary heart disease, heart failureTrusted Source, atrial fibrillationTrusted Source, stroke, atherosclerosis, and hypertension, also known as high blood pressure.
Now, a new study presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2026 found that community blood pressure-lowering interventions may help not only reduce cardiovascular disease risk, but dementia risk as well.
High blood pressure intervention vs. usual care
This study was conducted through the China Rural Hypertension Control Program (CRHCP), where 326 rural villages in China were randomly selected to receive either a non-physician community healthcare provider-led intervention or usual care.
Almost 34,000 adults (ages 40 and older) with an average age of 63 took part in the study. Participants either had an untreated systolic blood pressure (SBP) of at least 140 mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of at least 90 mmHg (or at least 130/80 mmHg if currently on antihypertensive medication or at high risk for cardiovascular disease).
Participants in the blood pressure-lowering intervention group received blood pressure medications from non-physician community healthcare providers under doctor supervision to help them achieve an SBP of less than 130 mmHg and a DBP of less than 80 mmHg.
Hypertension intervention lowers dementia risk
At the study’s conclusion, researchers found that participants in the intervention group achieved lower blood pressure reductions after seven years, when compared to the usual care group.
Additionally, intervention group participants also had a 15% lower risk of developing dementia and 13% reduced risk for cognitive impairment when compared to the usual care group.
“Hypertension is known to be a modifiable risk factor for dementia but there is still limited long-term evidence that blood-pressure lowering can prevent dementia at the population level,” Yingxian Sun, MD, PhD, director of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University in China, and principal investigator of CRHCP, says in a press release.