The reason why a steady supply of blood from the heart to the brain is so important can be summed up in a single word — hypoxia, a condition that occurs when the blood flow to the brain is reduced.
Brain hypoxia has been found to markedly increase the proliferation of the beta amyloid and tau proteins that are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.
In addition, hypoxia increases oxidative stress in the brain, which can result in cell death, another potential cause of Alzheimer’s disease.
It’s even been proposed that hypoxia is the “trigger” that pulls the “gun” of Alzheimer’s disease.
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