Pathophysiology of Early Vascular Ageing-Opportunities for Treatment

Abstract

The story of vascular ageing was first described in the seventeenth century when Thomas Sydenham wrote that ‘A man is as old as his arteries’. This aphorism was returned to publicity lately when Peter Nilsson reintroduced the concept of early vascular ageing. As vascular ageing is described a gradual process involving biochemical, enzymatic, and cellular changes of the vasculature and modification of the signals that modulate them. In susceptible individuals this process appears to be accelerated, leading to features that comprise a condition characterized as early vascular aging (EVA). Early vascular ageing represents the acceleration of the vascular ageing process.