Impact of hypertension and apolipoprotein E4 on poststroke cognition in subjects >75 years of age

Background and Purpose - The apolipoprotein E4 allele (APOE4) associates with increased dementia risk, and hypertension may associate with mild cognitive deficits. We examined whether nondemented stroke patients with (1) a prestroke history of hypertension and (2) APOE4 were more cognitively impaired at 3 months after stroke. Methods - A total of 257 participants were genotyped and outcomes from neuropsychological evaluations analyzed using regression. Results - Total Cambridge Assessment for Mental Disorders in the Elderly (CAMCOG) and speed of working memory significantly associated with hypertension. No outcomes significantly associated with APOE4. Conclusions - Subjects with prestroke hypertension had more impaired global cognition and slower access to information held in working memory.