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Vascular Aging Lifestyle
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An 80 year old man in the body of a 45 year old man...?
As we age, we accumulate wrinkles on our skin, and we become stiffer and less agile. What is in the outside is true on the inside: our arteries, the very conduits which supply our different organs with oxygen and nutrients, can age as well. In normal circumstances, our arteries are elastic and can widen to control blood pressure and oxygen supply to tissues. (Flip slideshow to find out how) Through different causes, our arteries become stiffer with age (arterial stiffness) and lose the ability to widen (or dilate).
Here’s the problem: our arteries may be aging faster than we think they are! So we may be looking youthful on the outside but aged on the inside. (1)
A brief introduction to vascular aging
This video explains what vascular aging is, and how we can measure it.
What makes our arteries stiff?
Why do they widen less?
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Vascular aging & diseases
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Why are aging arteries a problem?
The truth is, because of the importance of arteries in controlling blood pressure and maintaining a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients to our tissues, aging arteries could deprive our organs of sufficient oxygen, and fluctuations in blood pressure. (2) This would lead to organ damage, increased demands of the heart in pumping blood and other cardiovascular diseases. (Find out the mechanism here)
Vascular aging and Cardiovascular Diseases
Studies have proven that aging arteries give rise to the different cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), (3). They surface even before the first signs of some age-related diseases are observed. (4) This includes cardiovascular diseases like heart failure (5), atherosclerosis, stroke (6) and other diseases like age-related macula degeneration.
CVDs in numbers
32%
of all global deaths
17.9 M
deaths in 2019
38%
of all premature deaths (< 70 y/o)
12.8 Bn
adults with hypertension
85%
of all CVD deaths caused by heart attack and stroke
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How Do I Choose?
Our aging arteries can have a serious impact on our health, whether it is cardiovascular diseases, or other diseases such as age-related macula degeneration or Alzheimer's disease, which are affected by the deteriorating condition of our arteries. So if you are asking how to make wise choices to slow the aging, or possibly reverse it, you're on the right track.
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What is the science behind it?
If this is your concern, look out for the section on each page which explains the body mechanisms or phenomenon which explain the benefits (or shortfalls) of each strategy. If you are not convinced, You can identify a pathway, look out of the arrows which guide you to a more detailed explanation. This will be a great help also if you are cross checking our claims on other sites or articles.
Does this work in the body?
Great question! The truth is, there is a large gap between theory and reality. Scientific theories may be proven true, but they may not be so relevant at the level of the complex human body. If this is your concern, pay close attention to 1) the clinical trials were performed and 2) when we discuss how it interacts with other features of the human body.
How true is this?
Of course, the best way to clarify this would be to look at the strengths and the limitations of the studies, which we provide (look out for the arrows once again!) But another way you can verify is to look at how many studies have had similar findings. (if there is only one study supporting this claim, that is when alarm bells should start to ring.) We do provide the links to the studies which confirm our claims, so that is a useful to you can check out as well.
Is this actually relevant for me?
If this is your concern, spot on. Not all strategies (as you will learn later) fits everyone just as well. First of all, not everyone has the same genetic make up. In addition, the body has many components, and different people with different lifestyle may vary in their response to certain diets. Even our exercise may interfere (both positively and negatively) with the beneficial effects of a diet. This is why you should 1) look out for our conclusions at the bottom when we help you navigate your decisions based on your lifestyle and your predispositions (such as chronic illnesses like diabetes) 2) look out for the strengths of the studies, which tells us how much we can generalize it to you!
Is my life changed forever?
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IS OLIVE OIL THE SECRET INGREDIENT OF THE
MEDITERRANEAN DIET ?
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We know exactly what you are thinking. There sure are ways to improve my vascular health but... that means making drastic changes to your lifestyle. No more chocolate mousse? I can’t live without it. Vegetables and exercise? I must be crazy. Mediterranean diet? I'm not that kind of person.
At the same time, we also know that there have been plenty of touted methods to get by without strict diet regimes or modifying what we eat. But how true are they really? That’s why we’re here, not just to shed light on the truth, but to help you navigate your decisions on how to reverse vascular aging based on the evidence that is provided.
Done by: Timothy Ng
References
1. Bruno, R. M., Nilsson, P. M., Engström, G., Wadström, B. N., Empana, J.-P., Boutouyrie, P., & Laurent, S. (2020). Early and supernormal vascular aging. Hypertension, 76(5), 1616–1624. https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.120.14971
2. Ogola, B. O., Zimmerman, M. A., Clark, G. L., Abshire, C. M., Gentry, K. M., Miller, K. S., & Lindsey, S. H. (2018). New insights into arterial stiffening: Does sex matter? American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 315(5), H1073–H1087. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00132.2018
3. Lakatta, E. G., Wang, M., & Najjar, S. S. (2009). Arterial aging and subclinical arterial disease are fundamentally intertwined at macroscopic and molecular levels. Medical Clinics of North America, 93(3), 583–604. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcna.2009.02.008
4. Blacher, J., Asmar, R., Djane, S., London, G. M., & Safar, M. E. (1999). Aortic pulse wave velocity as a marker of cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients. Hypertension, 33(5), 1111–1117. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.HYP.33.5.1111
5. Mitchell, G. F., Hwang, S.-J., Vasan, R. S., Larson, M. G., Pencina, M. J., Hamburg, N. M., Vita, J. A., Levy, D., & Benjamin, E. J. (2010). Arterial stiffness and cardiovascular events. Circulation, 121(4), 505–511. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.886655
6. Mattace-Raso, F. U. S., van der Cammen, T. J. M., Hofman, A., van Popele, N. M., Bos, M. L., Schalekamp, M. A. D. H., Asmar, R., Reneman, R. S., Hoeks, A. P. G., Breteler, M. M. B., & Witteman, J. C. M. (2006). Arterial stiffness and risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Circulation, 113(5), 657–663. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.105.555235
7. Nowak, K. L., Rossman, M. J., Chonchol, M., & Seals, D. R. (2018). Strategies for achieving healthy vascular aging. Hypertension, 71(3), 389–402. https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.117.10439
Videos
1. VascAgeNet, RIVA Illustrations. (2021, March 24). What is vascular ageing? Animation by VascAgeNet (Subtitled version) [video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s0_Rkg_bRE
2. Volumetric . (2020, september 20). Vasodilation [video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYopWgpABfM
3. AnimaRes. (2018, August 21). 3d animated blood flow Windkessel effect [video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTFCnuh9lDM