The study found structural damage in the brains of people as young as 40 who had pre-hypertension.
Pre-hypertension is when blood pressure is elevated but not to the level considered to be high blood pressure.
Accelerated blood pressure was found in people with hypertension as well those with pre hypertension.
The study in the journal 'Lancet Neurology' is said to be the first to find that elevated blood pressure damages the brains of younger middle aged adults and suggests that blood pressure related brain damage occurs over a lifetime.
