“Given the prevalence of hypertension and the fact that effective drugs are so accessible, “treatment of hypertension may prove to be one of the best ways to prevent or delay dementia.” ~AHA
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In a recent article in MedPage Today, the American Heart Association stated there is compelling evidence that chronic arterial hypertension in mid-life is associated with late-life dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.
“There is a strong rationale for treating hypertension, taking into account age, brain health, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health, and other risk factors,” according to Costantino Iadecola, MD, director of the Brain and Mind Research Institute at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.
Given the prevalence of hypertension and the fact that effective drugs are so accessible, “treatment of hypertension may prove to be one of the best ways to prevent or delay dementia,” the AHA statement authors wrote.
There are a number of challenges clinicians currently face in treating hypertension, including individualizing blood pressure targets, he added. In an era of “precision medicine,” these targets need to be established on a patient-by-patient basis, Iadecola said, noting that in the elderly, lowering blood pressure can be detrimental.
Control of hypertension is likely to be a fundamental step in the effort to reduce the incidence of AD and other forms of dementia worldwide, Iadecola said.
Results from the long-term randomized controlled Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (FINGER) trial would seem to support this, he noted. Those results indicated that control of hypertension and other vascular risk factors as well as physical and mental activity and a healthy diet can prevent or improve cognitive decline in an at-risk population of elderly, Iadecola said.
With these findings, precision medicine, via pharmacogenetic testing can identify which medications work best, or at all, for each individual patient. This is critical when dealing in the long-term care setting. “In an elderly patient you don’t always have the luxury of waiting 3-6 weeks to see if a medication will work,” said Clay Bullard, President of PGx Medical, an Oklahoma based company who travels around the country educating healthcare professionals on the benefits of pharmacogenetic testing.
“Pharmacogenetics eliminates the “guessing game” or trial and error prescribing. With these new findings, it’s more important then ever to treat our aging community with the best tools and resources available, and pharmacogenetics is one of them.” said Bullard.
“Sometimes we get pushback from physicians or the nursing staff, and I ask, “what do you have to lose?” Pharmacogenetic testing is currently reimbursed by Medicare B and in select states, Medicaid.
For more information on pharmacogenetics or how to implement it into your long-term care community, contact: PGx Medical, info@pgxmed.com or 405-509-5112. PGx will walk you through the process or schedule an educational webinar for your staff.
If you would like to schedule PGx Medical to speak at your upcoming conference or corporate meeting on pharmacogenetics and how it relates to clinical concerns such as falls, dementia, sleep, pain, med management and overall staff efficiencies, send your request (with organization, date, time) to kburleson@pgxmed.com.
Read entire article at MedPageToday