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Background: Elderly individuals who provide care to a spouse suffering from dementia bear an increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Objective: To test the hypothesis that the Framingham CHD Risk Score would be higher in dementia caregivers relative to non-caregiving controls. Methods: We investigated 64 caregivers providing in-home care for their spouse with Alzheimer’s disease and 41 gender-matched non-caregiving controls. All subjects (mean age 70 ± 8 years, 75% women, 93% Caucasian) had a negative history of CHD and cerebrovascular disease. The original Framingham CHD Risk Score was computed adding up categorical scores for age, blood lipids, blood pressure, diabetes, and smoking with adjustment made for sex. Results: The average CHD risk score was higher in caregivers than in controls even when co-varying for socioeconomic status, health habits, medication, and …