title: Healthy aging and myocardium: A complicated process with various effects in cardiac structure and physiology.
abstract: It is known that there is an ongoing increase in life expectancy worldwide, especially in the population older than 65years of age. Cardiac aging is characterized by a series of complex pathophysiological changes affecting myocardium at structural, cellular, molecular and functional levels. These changes make the aged myocardium more susceptible to stress, leading to a high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (heart failure, atrial fibrillation, left ventricular hypertrophy, coronary artery disease) in the elderly population. The aging process is genetically programmed but modified by environmental influences, so that the rate of aging can vary widely among people. We summarized the entire data concerning all the multifactorial changes in aged myocardium and highlighting the recent evidence for the pathophysiological basis of cardiac aging. Keeping an eye on the clinical side, this review will explore the potential implications of the age-related changes in the clinical management and on novel therapeutic strategies potentially deriving from the scientific knowledge currently acquired on cardiac aging process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Heraklion University Hospital, 7100, Voutes, Heraklion-Crete, Greece. Electronic address: EleniSNakou@yahoo.gr.
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Nakou
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Heraklion University Hospital, 7100, Voutes, Heraklion-Crete, Greece.
authors.forename: F I
authors.initials: FI
authors.lastname: Parthenakis
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Heraklion University Hospital, 7100, Voutes, Heraklion-Crete, Greece.
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Kallergis
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Heraklion University Hospital, 7100, Voutes, Heraklion-Crete, Greece.
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Marketou
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Heraklion University Hospital, 7100, Voutes, Heraklion-Crete, Greece.
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Nakos
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Heraklion University Hospital, 7100, Voutes, Heraklion-Crete, Greece.
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Vardas
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species
keywords: Age-induced cardiac changes; Aged myocardium; Cardiac stem cells; Micro RNAs; β-Adrenergic desensitization