Contradicting an earlier belief that only high blood pressure is bad, a research has concluded that low blood pressure also has its share of bad effects during the old age.

The impact of high blood pressure on health has been known to all since ages. It results in heart ailments and also has been the main reason behind strokes in many old and middle aged people. But now it has been found out that having low blood pressure for a long time during middle age can result in higher risk of developing dementia at late age in life.

This research was conducted on 4,000 middle-aged people who had the average age of around 50 years. For all these 4,000 people, blood pressure was measured at the start of the research and then again after several years when the whole lot had an average age of 76 years.

Not only blood pressure, but these people were also judged on the basis of what memory skills they possessed in both the time periods via cognitive testing and MRI scans.

The results of this research showed that the ones who had high blood pressure in their 50s and a lower one in later ages had less memory and more loss of brain mass. Studies state that that this loss in memory could be the result of reduction of oxygen to the brain. On the other hand, the participants who showed high blood pressure in the later stage in life had 50% more risk of brain lesion.

So, the study suggests that one should keep a track of blood pressure history and should also keep it in control. The effective way to treat it would be by having healthy eating habits, exercising and consulting the doctor for proper medications in case of high blood pressure.