THE AGEING PROCESS
A man is as old as his arteries ~ Thomas Sydeham, MD. English Physician, 1624-1689
Ageing is a natural and inevitable process, and, as we age, the cardiovascular system becomes more susceptible to diseases including high blood pressure and atherosclerosis.
In this section we take you on a journey looking at the impact of ageing on your heart and your arteries. We will look at how your arteries age from your 20′s to 60+, pulse waves and blood pressure followed by a review of endothelial cells. As you will see, the relationship between the ageing process and the ageing of your arteries is bi-directional as one affects the other and speeds up the “ageing” process.
When we talk about cardiovascular, or heart disease, we really are referring to the arteries. The heart pumps 100,000 times a day and 2½ billion times over an average lifetime. Whilst the walls of the heart may thicken with age, it is primarily the condition of the arteries that has the capacity to create heart failure.
If your arteries, veins and other vessels of the circulatory system were stretched, they would measure about 100,000 kms. The arteries are made up of 3 layers: Adventita, Media and Intima. Within this 3rd layer are the endothelial cells which we will discuss in far more detail below.
If there is one thing to gain from reading this section is to understand the role of these endothelial cells.
The Heart Centre and the healthy heart.
At The Heart Centre, our role is to discuss heart conditions with medical professionals including doctors and cardiologists. In addition to medical bodies, we also talk to scientists, such as gerontologists who study ageing, that add a “scientific” approach to understanding and treating the heart.
As we age our doctors often prescribe medication to treat symptoms and it is all too easy to end up taking a concoction of drugs to relieve or prevent further development of heart disease. Our approach is to have a new look at the ageing heart with the assistance of new studies, new technologies and new treatments to provide you with better information.
One of the key research reports that we recommend is:
- Aging Hearts & Arteries: A Scientific Quest prepared by the National Institute of Health and National Institute on Aging which are bodies under the US Department of Health and Human Services.
We will refer to this report and also quote Edward Lakatta MD, Chief of the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Science, NIA.