The heart tend to slightly enlarge when people age, developing larger chambers and thicker walls. The increase in the size of the heart is attributed to the increase in the size of individual heart muscle cell. The heart’s pathways may also develop fat deposits as it ages. Moreover, the natural heart pacemaker will lose some of its cells. All these changes may lead to slower heart rates. Other changes in the heart that are normally considered normal include deposits of the lipofuscin, which an aging pigment ( Fleg, & Strait) . These changes affect the total lifespan of an individual, as they can cause common health problems such as abnormal heart rhythms, congestive heart failure, arteriosclerosis, and angina. Notably, problems such as high blood pressure are common in older age can lead to death. In addition, heart valve diseases such as aortic stenosis is common in older adults and can lead to death.
It is important to note that there are numerous research in medical science that are geared towards slowing the heart’s process of aging. Initially, pharmaceutical companies were focused on finding cures for individual heart diseases, but later set their sights on aging, which they realized to be a shared risk factor. Slowing the rate of biological aging of the heart may be the best way for warding off cardiovascular diseases associated with older age. The main aim of such studies is not only to increase a person’s lifespan but also ‘healthspan’, which is the number of years an individual is in good health. The claim by some manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and nutritional supplements that some of their anti-aging products of the heart are effective are false. Numerous studies propose the need to explore such anti-aging therapeutics and nutritional supplements in preclinical trials.
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References
Fleg, J. L., & Strait, J. (2012). Age-associated changes in cardiovascular structure and function: a fertile milieu for future disease. Heart failure reviews , 17 (4-5), 545-54.
Longo, V. D., Antebi, A., Bartke, A., Barzilai, N., Brown-Borg, H. M., Caruso, C., Curiel, T. J., de Cabo, R., Franceschi, C., Gems, D., Ingram, D. K., Johnson, T. E., Kennedy, B. K., Kenyon, C., Klein, S., Kopchick, J. J., Lepperdinger, G., Madeo, F., Mirisola, M. G., Mitchell, J. R., Passarino, G., Rudolph, K. L., Sedivy, J. M., Shadel, G. S., Sinclair, D. A., Spindler, S. R., Suh, Y., Vijg, J., Vinciguerra, M., & Fontana, L. (2015). Interventions to Slow Aging in Humans: Are We Ready?. Aging cell , 14 (4), 497-510.
