Treating high blood pressure may be an effective way of reducing ‘silent’ strokes among older people.
Strokes that occur without any noticeable symptoms are common in people over 60 with high blood pressure, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Univesrity of New South Wales (UNSW).
Although they may go undetected silent strokes still cause brain damage – and according to lead researcher, Perminder Sachdev, there are some telltale signs for their detection.
“These strokes are not truly silent, because they have been linked to memory and thinking problems and are a possible cause of a type of dementia,” he said.
“High blood pressure is very treatable, so this may be a strong target for preventing vascular disease.”
Silent strokes are also called lacunar infarcts and they occur when blood flow is blocked in the arteries that lead deep into the brain.
Dr Sachdev’s study involved 477 people between the ages of 60 and 64 who were followed over a four-year period.
At the beginning of the study period 7.8 per cent of the participants had silent strokes and an additional 1.6 per cent had developed them by the end of the study.
The researchers found that people with high blood pressure were 60 per cent more likely to have silent strokes than those with normal blood pressure.
The study was published in the American journal, Neurology.
