Related Experiment Videos
Ageing and its effects on the cardiovascular system
1Centre de Diagnostic, Hôpital Broussais, Paris, France.
Insights
Aging causes adaptive changes in cardiovascular structure and function, including left ventricular hypertrophy and arterial stiffening. These age-related cardiovascular changes affect cardiac performance and response to stress.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular physiology
- Gerontology
- Internal medicine
Background:
- Ageing is associated with cardiovascular changes, often confounded by disease and lifestyle factors.
- Understanding age-related cardiovascular alterations is crucial for differentiating normal aging from pathology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the intrinsic effects of aging on cardiovascular structure and function.
- To differentiate age-related changes from disease-induced alterations in the cardiovascular system.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of autopsy data.
- Non-invasive techniques, including echocardiography.
- Assessment of cardiovascular response to stress, such as maximal oxygen consumption during exercise.
Main Results:
- Progressive left ventricular wall thickening occurs with age, an adaptive response to increased afterload.
- Age-related arterial stiffening and intimal thickening increase systolic pressure and pulse pressure.
- Reduced ventricular compliance and prolonged relaxation impair diastolic filling, offset by increased atrial contribution.
- Resting cardiac output declines, and alpha-adrenoceptor-mediated vasoconstriction predominates.
- Cardiovascular performance under stress decreases, evidenced by reduced maximal oxygen consumption.
Conclusions:
- Aging induces adaptive cardiovascular changes, including left ventricular hypertrophy and arterial stiffening.
- These changes contribute to altered cardiac mechanics and reduced functional capacity with age.
- Distinguishing normal aging from pathological conditions is essential for effective cardiovascular care in older adults.
Abstract:
The study of the effect of ageing per se on cardiovascular structure and function is hindered by the occurrence of disease processes and lifestyle changes which are inextricably linked to the ageing process. Both autopsy data and non-invasive techniques such as echocardiography have revealed a progressive hypertrophic increase in left ventricular wall thickness from the third decade of life onwards, although ageing does not lead to wall thicknesses exceeding the upper limit of normal. However, ventricular cavity dimensions are relatively unaffected by age. Left ventricular hypertrophy is an adaptive response to the increase in cardiac afterload caused by age-related arterial dilatation and loss of vascular compliance. In the large arteries, clinically significant intimal thickening and loss of distensibility occur by the age of 60 years, resulting in increased pulse pressure through elevation of systolic pressure. By comparison, the contribution of increased peripheral resistance to the development of hypertension in the elderly is relatively small. With increasing age, prolongation of isovolumic cardiac relaxation and loss of ventricular compliance combine to reduce the efficacy of early ventricular diastolic filling, but an increased atrial contribution to late ventricular filling offsets this, and no loss of left ventricular end-diastolic volume results. Resting cardiac output declines with ageing in healthy subjects. With increasing age, alpha-adrenoceptor-mediated effects on the vasculature appear to predominate, resulting in net vasoconstriction. An age-related decline in cardiovascular performance under stress can be demonstrated by the measurement of maximal oxygen consumption during exercise.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)