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Effects Of Aging On The Cardiovascular System Essay

¶ … Export Import Company Consider organization work organization familiar. Reflect professional experiences organization. Consider experiences relate bases power, coercive power, reward power, legitimate power, expert power, referent power. The cardiovascular system: The effects of aging

To fully understand the effects of aging on the human cardiovascular system, the fundamental structure of the heart must also be comprehended The heart has two sides: the right which enables the body to excrete carbon dioxide by sending blood to the lungs so they can receive oxygen and the left which "pumps oxygen-rich blood to the rest of body" (Dugdale 2010). Usually, the heart is efficient at regulating itself. But the heart is a muscle, and just as the visible muscles of the body lose their integrity with aging, so does the heart. The heart muscles degenerate and the heart valves stiffen, which can cause a heart murmur or other complications. "The heart 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 SA node) loses...

These changes may result in a slightly slower heart rate" even for healthy patients (Dugdale 2010).
The heart may enlarge with age, and the left ventricle is particularly prone to such an increase in size. Increased heart wall size can be dangerous because this reduces the amount of blood the chamber can hold and cause the heart to fill more slowly with blood, affecting overall metabolism. There are also changes "in the activities of nodal and conductive fibers, a reduction in the elasticity of the heart's fibrous tissues," reducing blood flow" ("Cardiovascular system," AAHF, 2012). Abnormal rhythms on EKGs are more common in older people. Blood clots are more common due to the "constriction or blockage of peripheral veins by a blood clot" with thickened walls ("Cardiovascular system," AAHF, 2012). "There might be pooling of blood in the veins in the legs because valves are not working effectively" ("Cardiovascular system," AAHF, 2012).

While people of any age can suffer from high cholesterol, it is more common in older rather than younger adults. Atherosclerosis is a progressive, chronic disease…

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Works Cited

"Cardiovascular system." American Academy of Health and Fitness. AAHF. [28 Sept 2012]

http://www.aahf.info/sec_exercise/section/cardiovascular.htm

Dugdale, David C. "Aging changes in the heart and blood vessels." Medline Plus Encyclopedia,

2010. [28 Sept 2012] http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/004006.htm
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