Vascular Aging and Arterial Stiffness
Year: 2022
Type: dataset
Abstract: Biological aging occurs as a result of the interaction between genetics, chronological age and external factors. It is the basis for new concepts of vascular aging, whose progression is determined by the difference between biological and chronological age. From the structural point of view, the effects of vascular aging are more evident in the tunica media of large elastic arteries, marked by increased arterial stiffness, lumen dilation and wall thickness. These effects are described in the continuum of cardiovascular aging (proposed by Dzau in 2010), in which the progressive steps of microvasculature lesions of the heart, kidney and brain are initiated from the aging process. The increase of arterial stiffness can be detected by several non-invasive methods. Cardiovascular events have been traditionally described using scores that combine conventional risk factors for atherosclerosis. In the classic cardiovascular continuum (Dzau, 2006), to determine the exact contribution of each risk factor is challenging; however, since arterial stiffness reflects both early and cumulative damage of these cardiovascular risk factors, it is an indicator of the actual damage to the arterial wall. This article provides a general overview of pathophysiological mechanisms, arterial structural changes, and hemodynamic consequences of arterial stiffness; non-invasive methods for the assessment of arterial stiffness and of central blood pressure; the cardiovascular aging continuum, and the application of arterial stiffness in cardiovascular risk stratification.
Source: Figshare
Language: English
Subfield: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4394209069