Vascular Ageing: A Key Frontier in the Fight Against Cardiovascular Disease

There is a continuum of expression of cardiac structural and functional alterations that occurs with ageing in healthy humans, and these age-associated cardiac changes seem to be relevant to the increase in left ventricular hypertrophy, chronic heart failure, and arrhythmia that are commonly observed with increasing age. This chapter describes the structural and functional changes in the ageing process of the heart and blood vessels, and provides an overview of representative cardiovascular disease caused by ageing including hypertension, atherosclerosis, and heart failure. In addition, an outline of interventions that have be utilized to prevent and treat ageing related cardiovascular diseases is provided.

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Association of Insulin Resistance with Vascular Ageing in a General Caucasian Population: An EVA Study

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm10245748 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (24) ◽

pp. 5748

Author(s):

Leticia Gómez-Sánchez ◽

Marta Gómez-Sánchez ◽

Cristina Lugones-Sánchez ◽

Olaya Tamayo-Morales ◽

Susana González-Sánchez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Insulin Resistance ◽

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Regression Analysis ◽

Pulse Wave Velocity ◽

Wave Velocity ◽

Pulse Wave ◽

Positive Association ◽

Caucasian Population ◽

Model Assessment ◽

Vascular Ageing

The data on the relationship between insulin resistance and vascular ageing are limited. The aim of this study was to explore the association of different indices of insulin resistance with vascular ageing in an adult Caucasian population without cardiovascular disease. We selected 501 individuals without cardiovascular disease (mean age: 55.9 years, 50.3% women) through random sampling stratified by sex and age. Arterial stiffness was evaluated by measuring the carotid-to-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) and brachial-to-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). The participants were classified into three groups according to the degree of vascular ageing: early vascular ageing (EVA), normal vascular ageing (NVA) and healthy vascular ageing (HVA). Insulin resistance was evaluated with the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and another five indices. The prevalence of HVA and EVA was 8.4% and 21.4%, respectively, when using cfPWV, and 7.4% and 19.2%, respectively, when using baPWV. The deterioration of vascular ageing, with both measurements, presented as an increase in all the analysed indices of insulin resistance. In the multiple regression analysis and logistic regression analysis, the indices of insulin resistance showed a positive association with cfPWV and baPWV and with EVA.

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Inflammaging as a link between autoimmunity and cardiovascular disease: the case of rheumatoid arthritis

RMD Open ◽

10.1136/rmdopen-2020-001470 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. e001470

Author(s):

Pedro Santos-Moreno ◽

Gabriel Burgos-Angulo ◽

Maria Alejandra Martinez-Ceballos ◽

Alejandro Pizano ◽

Dario Echeverri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rheumatoid Arthritis ◽

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Autoimmune Diseases ◽

Population Group ◽

High Morbidity ◽

Non Invasive ◽

Vascular Ageing ◽

Beneficial Impact ◽

Cardiovascular Tests ◽

Traditional Risk Factors

Currently, traditional and non-traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease have been established. The first group includes age, which constitutes one of the most important factors in the development of chronic diseases. The second group includes inflammation, the pathophysiology of which contributes to an accelerated process of vascular remodelling and atherogenesis in autoimmune diseases. Indeed, the term inflammaging has been used to refer to the inflammatory origin of ageing, explicitly due to the chronic inflammatory process associated with age (in healthy individuals). Taking this into account, it can be inferred that people with autoimmune diseases are likely to have an early acceleration of vascular ageing (vascular stiffness) as evidenced in the alteration of non-invasive cardiovascular tests such as pulse wave velocity. Thus, an association is created between autoimmunity and high morbidity and mortality rates caused by cardiovascular disease in this population group. The beneficial impact of the treatments for rheumatoid arthritis at the cardiovascular level has been reported, opening new opportunities for pharmacotherapy.

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