Nutritional strategies for healthy cardiovascular aging: focus on micronutrients

Diet, along with genetic and environmental factors, is considered a major aspect affecting longevity as well as vascular disease outcome. Yet, inadequate nutritional intake is rampant among the elderly, affecting nearly 44% of otherwise healthy, community-dwellers in developed countries. Thus, malnutrition, both in quali- and quantitative terms and especially as related to micronutrient intake, may exacerbate intrinsic cardiovascular maladaptation associated with aging, affecting vascular disease outcomes as well as longevity. Conversely, there is accumulating evidence that diets enriched in micronutrients, including vitamins, polyphenols, and essential fatty acids, maintain cellular antioxidant status and stress response enzymes, which otherwise decrease with age. Thus, adequate intakes of micronutrients, either consequent to a correct diet or through supplementation, might afford the elderly protection from cardiovascular diseases. In this article we review the known effects of micronutrients on the aging heart and we propose strategies for dietary improvements.