In Japan (as of 2015), the total number of patients with hypertension amounts to over 10 million individuals with men at 4.45 million and women at 5.67 million respectively, and as age increases, the proportion of individuals with high blood pressure rises as well.
Generally, high blood pressure can increase the risk of developing cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage and myocardial infarction; moreover, recent research indicates that lifestyle-related diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes can also cause dementia.
A study that was done in Fukuoka Prefecture in Japan also reports that middle-aged individuals with high blood pressure are 2.4 to 10.1 times more likely to develop vascular dementia than normal people, because high blood pressure causes vascular damage such as arteriosclerosis.
In addition, blood vessels in the brain are more vulnerable than blood vessels in other parts of the body and high blood pressure can easily cause hemorrhage. In turn, damage to vessels can damage brain and nerve cells, making it more likely to develop dementia.
People with high blood pressure can improve their lifestyle by keeping their blood pressure at around 140 mmHg/90 mmHg (home blood pressure 135 mmHg/85 mmHg) or less for health management and dementia prevention.