Fapohunda Foluso asked

What is the relationship between blood pressure on the brain and intensive mental or cognitive activities?

Blood pressure on the brain is just like blood pressure of the rest of the body. Blood vessels are present in the brain like they are in the rest of the body. The brain requires oxygen, glucose and other nutrients to function and these are transported through the blood in blood vessels. If there’s a disruption, like a blocked or burst blood vessel due to high blood pressure, cells in the brain (neurones) will suffer and eventually die. Now you don’t want neurones dying, that’s basically your brain dying!

In relation to intensive mental or cognitive, they pose no danger to blood pressure on your brain unless these activities contribute to you being hypertensive. Hypertension is the snake to watch out for!

Hypertension doesn’t only hurt your heart, it can potentially hurt your brain too! It’s a circulatory disease – anywhere blood gets to, hypertension gets there too. Your brain is at huge risk if you’re a hypertensive patient.

How can high blood pressure hurt your brain?

• It can cause stroke; there are at least 6 different kinds of stroke that can take place in the brain.
• It can cause dementia – a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life. Symptoms include memory loss, difficulties with thinking, problem-solving and language.
• It can cause mild cognitive impairment – an intermediate stage between normal cognitive decline attached to aging and dementia.

All the above conditions could be as a result of ruptured blood vessels, blockages in blood vessels, blood clots that have traveled from somewhere else in the body to blood vessels in the brain or blood clots forming in the brain due to weakened blood vessels. The culprit is HYPERTENSION!

The blood pressure taken on your arm is the same blood pressure on your heart and your brain, so go get your blood pressure in check!