what is one result of decreasing blood flow to the heart or brain?

Some changes in the center and blood vessels ordinarily occur with age. However, many other changes that are mutual with aging are due to or worsened by modifiable factors. If not treated, these tin lead to heart disease.

Background

The heart has ii sides. The correct side pumps blood to the lungs to receive oxygen and become rid of carbon dioxide. The left side pumps oxygen-rich blood to the body.

Blood flows out of the center, first through the aorta, and so through arteries, which branch out and become smaller and smaller as they go into the tissues. In the tissues, they become tiny capillaries.

Capillaries are where the blood gives upward oxygen and nutrients to the tissues, and receives carbon dioxide and wastes dorsum from the tissues. Then, the vessels brainstorm to collect together into larger and larger veins, which return blood to the heart.

Aging CHANGES

Heart:

• The eye has a natural pacemaker system that controls the heartbeat. Some of the pathways of this system may develop fibrous tissue and fat deposits. The natural pacemaker (the sinoatrial or SA node) loses some of its cells. These changes may effect in a slightly slower heart rate.
• A slight increment in the size of the centre, especially the left ventricle occurs in some people. The heart wall thickens, and then the corporeality of blood that the chamber tin hold may actually decrease despite the increased overall heart size. The heart may fill more than slowly.
• Heart changes often cause the electrocardiogram (ECG) of a normal, healthy older person to be slightly unlike than the ECG of a healthy younger adult. Abnormal rhythms (arrhythmias), such as atrial fibrillation, are more than common in older people. They may be caused by several types of heart disease.
• Normal changes in the heart include deposits of the "aging paint," lipofuscin. The heart muscle cells degenerate slightly. The valves within the heart, which control the direction of blood menstruation, thicken and become stiffer. A heart murmur acquired past valve stiffness is fairly common in older people.

Claret vessels:

• Receptors called baroreceptors monitor the claret force per unit area and make changes to help maintain a fairly abiding blood pressure when a person changes positions or is doing other activities. The baroreceptors become less sensitive with aging. This may explain why many older people have orthostatic hypotension, a condition in which the claret pressure falls when a person goes from lying or sitting to standing. This causes dizziness because there is less blood flow to the brain.
• The capillary walls thicken slightly. This may cause a slightly slower rate of commutation of nutrients and wastes.
• The main artery from the heart (aorta) becomes thicker, stiffer, and less flexible. This is probably related to changes in the connective tissue of the claret vessel wall. This makes the blood pressure level higher and makes the centre piece of work harder, which may lead to thickening of the heart muscle (hypertrophy). The other arteries also thicken and stiffen. In general, most older people accept a moderate increase in blood pressure level.

Blood:

• The blood itself changes slightly with historic period. Normal aging causes a reduction in total body water. Equally part of this, there is less fluid in the bloodstream, so claret volume decreases.
• The speed with which red blood cells are produced in response to stress or illness is reduced. This creates a slower response to blood loss and anemia.
• Virtually of the white blood cells stay at the same levels, although sure white blood cells of import to amnesty (neutrophils) decrease in their number and ability to fight off leaner. This reduces the ability to resist infection.

Event OF CHANGES

Normally, the center continues to pump plenty blood to supply all parts of the body. Nevertheless, an older heart may not exist able to pump blood as well when you make information technology work harder.

Some of the things that make your center work harder are:

• Sure medicines
• Emotional stress
• Physical exertion
• Illness
• Infections
• Injuries

COMMON PROBLEMS

• Angina (chest pain caused by temporarily reduced blood flow to the middle muscle), shortness of breath with exertion, and heart attack tin can consequence from coronary artery disease.
• Aberrant eye rhythms (arrhythmias) of various types tin can occur.
• Anemia may occur, possibly related to malnutrition, chronic infections, blood loss from the gastrointestinal tract, or as a complication of other diseases or medicines.
• Arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) is very common. Fat plaque deposits inside the claret vessels crusade them to narrow and totally cake blood vessels.
• Congestive heart failure is also very common in older people. In people older than 75, congestive heart failure occurs 10 times more than frequently than in younger adults.
• Coronary avenue affliction is fairly common. It is often a result of atherosclerosis.
• High blood pressure and orthostatic hypotension are more common with older historic period. Older people on claret pressure level medicines demand to work with their doc to find the best way to manage their high blood pressure level. This is considering as well much medicine may crusade low claret pressure and could pb to a fall.
• Heart valve diseases are fairly common. Aortic stenosis, or narrowing of the aortic valve, is the well-nigh common valve illness in older adults.
• Transient ischemic attacks (TIA) or strokes can occur if blood flow to the brain is disrupted.

Other problems with the heart and blood vessels include the following:

• Blood clots
• Deep vein thrombosis
• Thrombophlebitis
• Peripheral vascular disease, resulting in intermittent pain in the legs when walking (claudication)
• Varicose veins
• Aneurysms may develop in ane of the major arteries from the heart or in the brain. Aneurysms are an abnormal widening or ballooning of a office of an artery due to weakness in the wall of the claret vessel. If an aneurysm bursts information technology may cause bleeding and death.

PREVENTION

• You lot can assistance your circulatory system (eye and blood vessels). Heart disease risk factors that yous have some control over include high blood pressure level, cholesterol levels, diabetes, obesity, and smoking.
• Eat a heart-good for you diet with reduced amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol, and control your weight. Follow your health care provider'due south recommendations for treating high blood force per unit area, high cholesterol or diabetes. Reduce or stop smoking.
• Men between the ages of 65 to 75 who have ever smoked should exist screened for aneurysms in their abdominal aorta usually with an ultrasound exam.

Go more do:

• Exercise may help forestall obesity, and it helps people with diabetes control their claret sugar.
• Exercise may aid you maintain your abilities as much every bit possible, and it reduces stress.
• Moderate exercise is one of the best things y'all tin do to keep your heart, and the rest of your body, healthy. Consult with your provider before beginning a new exercise program. Exercise moderately and within your capabilities, just do it regularly.
• People who exercise often have less torso fat and smoke less than people who practice not exercise. They also tend to take fewer blood force per unit area issues and less centre illness.

Take regular cheque-ups for your heart:

• Accept your blood pressure level checked every year. If yous accept diabetes, centre disease, kidney issues, or certain other conditions, your claret pressure level may demand to exist monitored more than closely.
• If your cholesterol level is normal, have it rechecked every v years. If you lot have diabetes, eye disease, kidney problems, or certain other weather condition, your cholesterol may need to exist monitored more than closely.

Heart affliction - crumbling; Atherosclerosis - aging

Forman DE, Fleg JL, Wenger NK. Cardiovascular illness in the elderly. In: Zipes DP, Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann DL, Tomaselli GF, Braunwald E, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2019:chap 88.

Howlett SE. Effects of aging on the cardiovascular system. In: Fillit HM, Rockwood Thou, Immature J, eds. Brocklehurst's Textbook of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier, 2017:chap 16.

Seki A, Fishbein MC. Age-related cardiovascular changes and diseases. In: Buja LM, Butany J, eds. Cardiovascular Pathology. quaternary ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2016:chap ii.

Walston JD. Common clinical sequelae of crumbling. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 26th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 22.

Updated by: David C. Dugdale, Three, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. As well reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Managing director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

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Source: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/004006.htm

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