BDNF and atherosclerosis: In a nutshell, physical activity protects brain health and fuels neuroplasticity by reducing the likelihood of vascular diseases and improving cerebral perfusion (e.g., plaque deposits in arteries, atherosclerosis, hypertension, and stroke) [41–47], improves respiratory function [48], stimulates growth factors particularly brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and insulin-like growth factor-1 [49–52], and downregulates oxidative stress and inflammatory responses [43, 44, 53].