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Functional peculiarities of the heart in the aged
Insights
Cardiac function changes with age. Heart contraction studies show a prolonged pre-ejection period (PEP) and decreased filling rates in older adults, impacting overall heart health.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Gerontology
- Physiology
Background:
- Aging is associated with cardiovascular changes.
- Understanding age-related alterations in cardiac dynamics is crucial for geriatric health.
- Previous studies suggest modifications in heart contraction patterns with advancing age.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate age-related changes in heart contraction dynamics.
- To assess the impact of aging on cardiac timing intervals and filling rates.
- To explore the physiological basis for altered cardiac function in the elderly.
Main Methods:
- Noninvasive cardiovascular assessment in 126 subjects (3rd-8th decades).
- Simultaneous recording of electrocardiogram, phonocardiogram, and external carotid arterial pulse.
- Apexcardiogram and mitral valve echogram used in a subset of subjects.
Main Results:
- Significant prolongation of the pre-ejection period (PEP) with age.
- No significant change in left ventricular ejection time (LVET); decreased LVET/PEP ratio.
- Isovolumic relaxation time prolonged; diminished mitral valve E-F slope, indicating reduced diastolic filling rate.
Conclusions:
- Aging leads to prolonged PEP and impaired diastolic filling, suggesting slower ventricular relaxation or increased stiffness.
- These changes reflect inherent modifications in the mitral valve or left ventricle with age.
- The study highlights age-dependent alterations in cardiac mechanics impacting heart function.
Abstract:
The dynamics of the heart contraction was studied on 126 subjects of different age (3rd--8th decades), using the classical noninvasive method, and the electrocardiogram, the phonocardogram and the external carotid arterial pulse were simultaneously recorded. In a smaller number of cases there was recorded the apexcardiogram or the echogram of the mitral valve. There was ascertained a prolongation of the pre-ejection period (PEP) with advance in age, while the left ventricular ejection time (LVET) was not significantly modified. The LVET/PEP ratio decreased significantly with age. The isovolumic relaxation time, estimated by means of the apexcardiogram, was prolonged in the aged subjects. The echogram of the mitral valve showed a diminution of the E--F slope, demonstrating that the filling rate in the protodiastole decreases in the advanced age. This decrease may reflect a reduction with age in the rate of the opening movement of the mitral valve imposed by the inherent modifications either of the mitral valve or of the left ventricle. The delay of the protodiastolic filling of the ventricle can be attributed to the slowing down of the ventricle relaxation or to the increase of the left ventricle wall stiffness in the aged.