The Aging Cardiovascular System

Discusses the advances made in learning how the normal aging process affects the heart & arteries & how to treat cardiovascular diseases. The most important findings are highlighted, & the future of cardiovascular medicine is also included. Chapters include: heat dynamics, measuring the heart, the biology of physical fitness, arteries: young & old, measuring stiffness, when the brain talks to the heart, how a myocyte contracts, exercise & the aging myocyte, what happens during atherosclerosis, & gene therapy. Glossary of terms. Illustrated.

Early Vascular Aging (EVA): New Directions in Cardiovascular Protection, Second Edition continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative resource on premature alterations in artery structure and function. The book presents a novel approach to the problem of cardiovascular disease, showing it in relation to great vessels disease and revealing a comprehensive approach to the problem of increased rigidity of the great vessels, its causes, and further consequences. This second edition contains completely updated content with expanded coverage of basic and translational research, systematic reviews of the most prominent literature, discussion of applicability of new evidence and more. Written by an international team of clinicians and researchers, this is a valuable resource to basic and translational scientists, clinical researchers and clinicians in the cardiovascular field interested in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of EVA. Contains all the relevant information available on the main paradigm shifts in vascular aging research, from different fields of knowledge (from basic biology to epidemiology) Reviews the most prominent evidence produced on early vascular aging (EVA), highlighting recent research advances, clinical applications, and research opportunities Formulates, in each chapter, a set of research questions that need to be addressed, challenging the vast research community to take on new directions and collaborations

In this book, the genetic and molecular basis of cardiovascular aging is examined in detail and a comprehensive assessment given of the bioenergetics changes occurring in human and animal models of cardiac aging. Both current diagnostic and future therapeutic modalities are presented, giving this book a dual-pronged approach. Cardiac aging, like aging in general, is a complex process involving numerous cellular and molecular changes. This book sheds new light on the phenomenon.

Reviews the best therapies and surgical techniques available to provide quality care for the elderly cardiac patient and of those areas that require further research. The authors detail preventive therapies and the cardiovascular syndromes that disproportionately afflict the older individual, including arrhythmias (particularly atrial fibrillation), syncope, heart failure (particularly diastolic heart failure), and ischemic heart disease. They also delineate the surgical management of the heart patient with discussions of postoperative management and its complications and of specific surgical procedures such as coronary artery bypass grafting, valve surgery, pacemaker and defibibrillators, and surgical management of heart failure.

This book provides the first comprehensive overview of a new scientific discipline termed Geroscience. Geroscience examines the molecular and cellular mechanisms that might explain why aging is the main risk factor for most chronic diseases affecting the elderly population. Over the past few decades, researchers have made impressive progress in understanding the genetics, biology and physiology of aging. This book presents vital research that can help readers to better understand how aging is a critical malleable risk factor in most chronic diseases, which, in turn, could lead to interventions that can help increase a healthy lifespan, or ‘healthspan.’ The book begins with an analysis of the Geroscience hypothesis, as well as the epidemiological underpinnings that define aging as a candidate main risk factor for most chronic diseases. Next, each chapter focuses on one particular disease, or group of diseases, with an emphasis on how basic molecular and cellular biology might explain why aging is a major risk factor for it. Coverage in the book includes: cancer, cardiovascular disease, dementias, stroke, Parkinson's and Alzheimer’s diseases, osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes asthma, emphysema, kidney disease, vision impairment, and AIDS/HIV. It finishes with a chapter on pain in the elderly and an overview of future steps needed to bring the newly acquired knowledge into the clinic and the public at large.