Myth: Chronic stress is linked to heart disease, not brain disease

Reality: The relationship between stress and heart disease still isn’t fully understood. But it’s known that chronic stress causes an increase in heart rate and blood pressure that might damage artery walls over time. The risks don’t stop there, however. Stress affects your whole body, including your brain.

One recent line of research suggests that frequent stress may even boost the risk for Alzheimer’s disease. A new study headed by scientists at the University of California at San Diego showed that repeated stress triggered brain changes in mice that were similar to the abnormal clumps of protein seen in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. The changes were most pronounced in the hippocampus. In humans, this part of the brain plays a key role in memory and is hard hit by Alzheimer’s disease.