CANBERRA (Dispatches) -- The Australian National University (ANU) researchers found that optimal blood pressure helps our brains stay at least six months younger than our actual age.
The study found participants with high blood pressure had older and therefore less healthy brains, increasing their risk of heart disease, stroke and dementia and that those with an elevated blood pressure, but within the normal range, also had older looking brains and were at risk of health problems.
Normal blood pressure is defined by pressure below 120/80, whereas an optimal and healthier blood pressure is closer to 110/70.
The new research comes after a large international study found the number of people over 30 with high blood pressure has doubled globally.
Cardiologist and co-author of the study, Professor Walter Abhayaratna, said that compared to a person with a high blood pressure of 135/85, someone with an optimal reading of 110/70 was found to have a brain age that appears more than six months younger by the time they reach middle age.