3 Ways a Healthy Heart Can Protect Your Brain

Brain Bonus: High levels of bad cholesterol can cause plaque buildup in your blood vessels, leading to blockages that may prevent blood from reaching parts of the brain. Schedule a screening to find out your levels and talk to your doctor about a strategy to bring your good and bad cholesterol into balance. In addition to lifestyle changes, your plan could involve cholesterol-lowering medication like statins. Research suggests that when used long-term, they could have a protective effect on memory and cognition, the extent of which may vary by type of statin and the patient's gender and ethnicity—ask your doc what's right for you. Here's to many more mentally robust years in your future.