ABSTRACT

In the cardiovascular system, a process leads to a cascade of changes exhibited at the molecular, cellular, and tissue levels, which alter the substrate on which cardiovascular diseases are superimposed and thus alter the occurrence, presentation, and manifestation of cardiovascular diseases in older persons. However, these pathological changes, although associated with advancing age, should not be confused with cardiovascular aging. The most prominent structural change that the human heart undergoes with aging consists of a significant increase in the myocardial thickness. As mentioned earlier, in contrast to the passive elastic properties of the heart muscle, those of arteries do change significantly with aging. Systemic hypertension is a synonym for high arterial blood pressure; an individual is said to be hypertensive if a systolic pressure equal to or higher than 140 mmHg or a diastolic pressure equal to or higher than 90 mmHg is found during repeated measurements.