When Dr. Bryan Woodruff looks at the brain of someone who had Alzheimer's disease, he often finds more than just the sticky plaques and tangled proteins that most people have heard about. He also finds a buildup of fats and cholesterol in the blood vessels feeding the brain, along with tiny strokes so small they cause no obvious symptoms — but over time, they can slowly starve brain cells of the oxygen they need.
Woodruff is a cognitive neurologist at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, and he says this hidden damage is why keeping your heart healthy matters so much for your thinking and memory.
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