Related Experiment Videos
Age Associated Alterations in Structure and Function of the Cardiovascular System
Mrugesh B. Patel1, Edmund H. Sonnenblick
1Division of Cardiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.
Insights
Aging significantly alters cardiovascular structure and function, reducing cardiac reserve and increasing risks for heart conditions in older adults. Understanding these changes is crucial for effective treatment strategies.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Gerontology
Background:
- Aging causes structural and functional cardiovascular changes.
- These changes can directly cause pathology or worsen existing cardiovascular diseases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize the effects of aging on the cardiovascular system.
- To discuss the implications for cardiovascular disease in the elderly.
Main Methods:
- Review of age-associated changes in peripheral arteries and myocardium.
- Analysis of cardiac function at rest and during exercise in aging populations.
Main Results:
- Aging increases systolic and pulse pressures due to arterial stiffening.
- Myocardial changes include myocyte loss and reduced contractility, leading to decreased cardiac reserve during exercise.
- The aging heart exhibits increased stiffness.
Conclusions:
- Age-related cardiovascular changes contribute to increased mortality from myocardial infarction and heart failure.
- The aging population may benefit from medications like beta-adrenergic antagonists and ACE inhibitors.
Abstract:
The process of aging leads to significant changes in the structure and function of the cardiovascular system. Some of these changes result directly in pathological effects, while others serve to exacerbate the effects of cardiovascular diseases. The changes in the walls of the peripheral arteries lead to increased systolic and pulse pressures. In the myocardium, there is an age associated loss of myocytes. The remaining cells have reduced inotropic capacity. The aging heart also shows increased stiffness in both animal and human studies. Cardiac function is shown to be normal at rest in the aging population, however, during exercise, the aging heart shows a significantly smaller reserve. The increased mortality rates in setting of myocardial infarction and/or congestive heart failure in the elderly may be related to reduced muscle mass and loss of cardiac myocytes. Conversely, the aging population may receive greater benefit from the protective effects of beta-adrenergic antagonists and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors.