Less atherosclerosis and lower blood pressure for a meaningful life perspective with more brain.

Traditional teaching subdivides the dementia syndrome into neurodegenerative Alzheimer’s disease (AD), vascular dementia (VaD), and mixed variants. In spite of the vast and continuing literature on the dichotomy between AD and VaD, new emerging concepts highlight the role of cardiovascular risk factors in the pathogenesis of AD, especially in older patients.1,2 Hypertension is the major player in the pathogenesis of stroke, poststroke dementia, and VaD. AD is the most common cause of dementia, contributing from 45% to 75% of the cases in Asians and whites, respectively.3 This review will focus on the role of hypertension as a reversible risk factor in the development of dementia, in particular AD. To set the stage, we will first summarize current insights in the epidemiology of AD, the pathogenesis of VaD and AD, and the association between neurodegeneration and atherosclerosis.