Healthy Vascular Ageing and Early Vascular Ageing

Abstract

Chronological age is an important independent predictor of cardiovascular events. Although the cumulative effect of cardiovascular risk factors over time partly explains this relationship, accumulating evidence suggests this is a simplistic interpretation of a more complex concept. With advancing age slowly progressive changes can be seen affecting the structure and function of large and small vessels as well as the phenotype of various cell lines. It is important to note that these changes occur at different rates depending on the clinical context and can be detected much earlier in individuals affected by chronic metabolic or vascular diseases. Determining ‘vascular age’ may therefore be an important tool for cardiovascular risk stratification. This chapter will review the cellular, functional and structural effects of ageing on the vasculature, clinical and research tools for assessing aspects of vascular age, the concept of ‘early vascular ageing’ and associated clinical conditions and pathways to achieve healthy vascular ageing.