Aging HeartOur Heart The
heart, one of the vital organs in the human body, is a powerful pump located behind
and slightly to the left of the breastbone and between the lungs. It is a muscle
about the size of your fist which contracts and expands using its own bio-electrical
system, to continuously pump blood ar ound
the body to nourish and provide energy. The pumping of the heart is known as the
cardiac cycle, which occurs about 72 times per minute and it pumps blood through
network of vessels in the body. The heart lies
at the centre of these complicated network of blood vessels which include arteries
and veins. The left side of the heart receives oxygen filled blood from
the lungs and pumps it out through the 'arteries' around the body and the right
side receives used up-blood containing carbon dioxide through the 'veins' and
sends this blood to the lungs to get rid of the carbon dioxide and take in fresh
oxygen. The heart, in the simplest terms, consists of
four chambers, two atria (upper chambers) and two ventricles (lower chambers).
As the muscles of the heart relax, blood (oxygen filled blood from the lungs and
carbon dioxide filled blood from the rest of the body) enters its various chambers.
The atrium fill with blood and help move blood into the ventricle. The ventricle
supplies the main force that pumps the blood out, through either the lungs or
to the rest of the body. As the blood enters the heart, Flaps called valves
close quickly to stop any blood leaking backwards and thus control the direction
of blood flow. There are four valves; mitral and the tricuspid between the atria
and the ventricles and other two, aortic and pulmonary through which blood enters
and leaves the heart.
Effects of aging
Heart
functions begin to slow down with age. The aging process reduces the heart muscle
strength. So its pumping power declines, and the maximal heart rate (the highest
number of times your heart can contract in a minute) also decreases. When
the amount of blood pumped by the heart in a minute declines, systolic blood pressure
tends to rise. Some of the common heart problems that can occur as we age are
- Arteriosclerosis (hardening / clogging of the arteries
due to excessive build up of fat and cholesterol known as plaque). Fatty plaque
deposits inside the blood vessels cause it to narrow and can totally block blood
vessels and also cause the valves that control the direction of blood flow to
thicken and become stiff. Arteriosclerosis in turn is the underlying cause
of most cardio vascular diseases.
- The heart has to work harder due to
decreased blood supply. Greater force is necessary to push blood through narrowed
vessels due to plaque build up. So high blood pressure develops and this buildup
and shortage of oxygenated blood over time, leads to heart attacks. In a heart
attack, a part of the heart muscle becomes starved for oxygen and dies.
-
Angina (chest pain caused by temporarily reduced oxygenated blood flow to
the heart muscle), causing pain in the chest, in the left arm or between the shoulder
blades.
- Dissecting Aneurysm: The atherosclerosed aorta becomes
brittle and can break much easier creating a life threatening situation.
- Heart
failure is very common in the elderly. In people older than 75, heart failure
occurs 10 times more often than in younger adults.
- Abnormal heart rhythms
(arrhythmias) of various types.
Probable reasons
for the change... From forty through seventy, the
five major risk factors for heart disease are family history, smoking, high cholesterol,
diabetes and high blood pressure. But apart from family history and smoking, the
others are related to diet, weight and inactivity. Directly, age is not a
risk factor but people tend to put on weight and become more inactive as they
age and a combination of other factors like continuing heart-unhealthy habits
and diets takes its toll as people age and as such age is a risk factor for the
other risk factors. Apart from cholesterol; stress and the presence of Lp
(a), a lipoprotein; homocysteine, an obscure amino acid ; and triglycerides, a
compound of fats in the blood are also involved in the development of heart diseases.
Your triglyceride levels tend to rise from forties through sixties. The higher
the levels of triglycerides, the higher the probability of reduced levels of good
cholesterol (HDL). The body also converts the cellular carriers of triglycerides
into forms of bad cholesterol (LDL). Ways to delay effects
of aging... Risk factors that you have some control over include
high blood pressure, cholesterol levels, diabetes, obesity, and smoking. 'Atherosclerosis'
once thought to be an aging disorder is now known to be a progressive narrowing
of arteries over time which is fed by rich diets, high in cholesterol and fats
and aggravated by smoking and high blood pressure.
People who work
out seriously and continuously for most of a decade has been seen to cut their
age related decline of maximal heart rate in half. So maintaining
a healthy diet and regular activity level and stopping unhealthy habits like smoking
go a long way in controlling heart related problems. Check
ups
Age 35 is a good time to get your blood checked out, especially
your cholesterol levels ( a base level blood count and a full
lipid profile) and blood pressure, and have a follow up every other
year. Consider getting a CT scan at 40, if there is a strong
incidence of heart disease or heart attack in your family. People
aged 30 and older, who are more prone for a heart disease risk, like people having
a sudden new pain, and those who are smokers and have a family history of diabetes
or have diabetes should have a baseline ECG
Test . Smoking
Minimize or quit smoking.
Smoking and tobacco-related health complications are the single largest cause
of preventable, premature death. The prime ingredients in cigarettes such as
tar, carbon monoxide and nicotine are instigators of cardiovascular diseases and
lung ailments. Diet
Eat a heart-healthy
diet with reduced amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol and rich in unrefined,
complex carbohydrates. Heart disease often begins in childhood by consumption
of heart unhealthy diets from a young age and fatty deposits getting accumulated
in the arteries. Lesions in the arteries often appear in young people following
this unhealthy regimen. A sustained low fat vegetarian diet which consists of
fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, soya bean products and yoghurt etc along
with regular exercise, stress management, non-smoking etc has been proved to even
regress arterial fatty deposits of patients with heart disease. Dietary practices
recommended to reduce the risk of heart disease includes
- Keep fat intake below 30 percent of your total calories. Try to avoid
fried food stuffs and also food that contain excess fat such as beef, mutton etc.
- Within
the recommended fat intake, less than 10% should come from saturated fat.
i.e 25 gm for women and 30gm for men. A slice of cheese, a pat of butter, one
half cup of milk contains about 5gm of fat.
- 50 to 60% of your
total calories should come from carbohydrates such as rice, bread, potatoes and
pasta.
- Limit the cholesterol in your diet to 300milligrams or less,
a day. Eggs, meat and diary products are major sources of cholesterol. One egg
yolk contains about 220 milligrams of choleterol.
- Reduce the amount of
salt intake.
- Eat raw vegetables such as cucumber, carrot, tomato, onion
etc as also foods with more fibre content.
Excercise
Moderate exercise is one of the best things you can do to keep
your heart and the rest of your body, healthy. Consult with your health provider
before beginning a new exercise program. Exercise moderately and within your capabilities,
but do it regularly. Exercise helps reduce stress and prevent obesity which in
turn is associated with the development of heart disease, diabetes etc. It also
helps people with diabetes control their blood sugar. People
who work out seriously and continuously for most of a decade has been seen to
cut their age related decline of maximal heart rate in half. Between ages
40-50 check out your VO2 max, the maximum rate at which the muscles use oxygen
during peak exercise. The old standard for calculating your target heart
rate is (220- your age) x .85. For good cardio fitness, it is advisable to exercise
aerobically 90 minutes per week minimum. Drinking
Alchohol (Ethyl alcohol or ethanol) made out of Fermented grain, fruit juice
and honey is a depressant, and if taken in small amounts relaxes the mind and
reduce anxieties. More and more studies have shown that ethanol increases levels
of HDL cholesterol (the good stuff) , dilates blood vessels and keeps blood from
clotting. But no more than two drinks per day is beneficial and more than that
could be detrimental for health. |
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