The heart is the hardest working muscle in the body, beating approximately 100,000 times a day. Understanding how your heart changes with age can help you better manage its health. This is particularly important for senior adults, because people 65 and older are much more likely to develop heart disease, the leading cause of death for men and women, or even suffer a heart attack or stroke.
Changes as You Age
A common change the heart experiences is stiffness in the large arteries that move blood to and from the heart. This is called arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). High levels of cholesterol and fatty deposits called plaque restrict blood flow. This causes high blood pressure (hypertension) and forces the heart to work harder to move blood through your body.
As the heart labors more strenuously, a chamber of the heart thickens, and becomes less able to store and pump oxygen-laden blood throughout the body. Also, arteriosclerosis makes it more difficult for the heart to receive the necessary blood and oxygen it needs, thus reducing its ability to function.
As we age, our bodies also become more sensitive to salt, which can increase blood pressure.
Also, changes in your heart and blood vessels that occur as we age will not allow the heart to beat as fast during physical activity or stress. This is why the recommended number of heart beats per minute during cardiovascular training is lower for seniors than younger people.
The heart has a natural pacemaker (called the SA node) that sometimes loses its ability to function properly in senior adults. The cells embedded in its structure decrease in number and develop fibrous tissue and fat deposits that diminish its ability to regulate heartbeats. The result may necessitate the implantation of a pacemaker.
Arrhythmias, which are present more frequently in seniors than in other age groups, occur when the electrical impulses that coordinate heartbeats don’t work correctly. These result in a beat that is too fast, too slow, or irregular. This may feel like a fluttering or racing heart. One of the most common types of arrhythmias is called atrial fibrillation, which mainly develops in people over 65.
Many arrhythmias are harmless, but some can cause severe complications or even death. Consult with your physician if you are experiencing symptoms.
Heart valves are located in the heart’s two ventricles (lower chambers of the heart). The opening and closing of the ventricles act as one-way inlets for blood on one end of the ventricle and one-way outlets of blood on the other side of the ventricle. Aging can cause these valves to thicken and become stiffer. The “lub-dub” sound associated with a heartbeat is caused by the opening and closing of these valves. A physician with a stethoscope can detect a swishing sound (called a murmur) between the two parts of the heartbeat. This may feel like a very subtle extra heartbeat. A physician can determine if the murmur is serious.
5 Tips to Help Your Heart
Though you can’t control a family history of heart disease, you can do many things to manage your heart health. Implementing these tips have been proven to help your heart:
- Remain or become physically active. If possible, 150 minutes of exercise per week at moderate activity level is recommended. This could include brisk walking, gardening, dancing and cycling, for example. Before beginning an exercise program, consult your physician.
- Strength training, even at home with a moderate amount of equipment, is considered an important part of a heart-healthy routine. See if you can build up to 30 minutes of strength training two or more days per week as recommended by the National Institute on Aging.
Research shows even moderate levels of exercise started later in life can benefit the heart, even if heart disease is present.
- Eat a heart-healthy diet consisting of nutrient-rich foods like fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, low-fat dairy products and skinless lean meat like poultry and fish. Avoid saturated fats.
- Do not smoke. Also, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, excessive alcohol consumption has been linked to high blood pressure, stroke, and heart failure.
- Manage and work to improve conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol, and schedule regular checkups with your doctor for your heart and overall health.
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