Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: Despite significant decreases in prevalence over the last 3 decades, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in developed nations like the United States.By far, the strongest independent risk factor for CVD is age, with Ͼ90% of all CVD occurring in adults age 40 and older (1).Current population projections of a doubling of the number of older adults over the coming decades suggest the possibility of a marked increase in clinical CVD without effective intervention (3).Successful intervention efforts typically are aided by the identification of therapeutic targets, which may attenuate or ameliorate age-related increases in our risk of CVD.Direct effects of aging on the heart certainly contribute, but much of the increased risk can be attributed to changes to the arterial system, termed vascular or arterial aging (5).The latter changes include stiffening of the large elastic arteries, reduced nitric oxide bioavailability associated endothelial dysfunction, impaired regulation of blood flow in response to increased metabolic demand, altered angiogenesis, and structural changes.Accumulating evidence indicates that vascular aging not only increases the risk of CVD (hypertension, coronary and peripheral artery disease, stroke), but plays a major role in the etiology of numerous other common clinical disorders of advancing age including chronic kidney disease, normal cognitive aging and dementia (Alzheimer's disease), metabolic disease, and reduced exercise capacity, a strong predictor of mortality (6, 11, 12) (Fig. 1).
Source: Journal of Applied Physiology
Authors: Douglas R. Seals, Lacy M. Alexander
Institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, Pennsylvania State University
Language: English
Subfield: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4240543049