[The cardiovascular system of healthy long-living Abkhazians]

In order to study the peculiarities of aging of the blood circulatory system, an epidemiological investigation of long-living humans (subjects aged 90 years and over) was performed in three villages of Abkhazia. The region is characterized by a high level of longevity. Seventy-eight long-living individuals were available for the study. Thirty healthy persons aged from 20 to 40 years served as the control group. In the healthy long-lived (total, 41 persons) the functional state of the circulatory system appeared to be worse than in the 20-40-year-old people. Due to a marked change of the circulatory system with age, there is a decrease in its adaptation reserve which, in turn, leads to an increased probability of the development of pathological conditions (IHD and hypertensive disease), as well as their complications and lethal outcome.