Increasing MRI evidence of cerebral small-vessel disease is associated with worsening cognition in patients with hypertension, according to findings from a longitudinal study.

“Five out of 10 patients with hypertension experience a progression of brain vascular lesions — and especially white matter hyper-intensities (WMH) — despite being treated with blood pressure-lowering drugs,” said Dr Joan Jimenez-Balado from Vall Hebron Research Institute, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain.