In: Biology
How does aging change the Blood vessels
Increase in aging, affect the walls of the arteries and arterioles become thicker, and the space within the arteries expands slightly. Elastic tissue within the walls of the arteries and arterioles is lost. These changes make the vessels stiffer and less resilient. Because arteries and arterioles become less elastic as people age, they cannot relax as quickly during the rhythmic pumping of the heart. As a result, blood pressure increases more when the heart contracts sometimes above normal—than it does in younger people. Abnormally high blood pressure during systole with normal blood pressure during diastole is very common among older people.Blood pressure changes with age. In a newborn baby, arterial pressure is about 90/55. Blood pressure rises steadily during childhood to finally reach the adult value (120/80). After age 40, the incidence of hypertension increases dramatically, as do associated illnesses such as heart attacks, strokes, vascular disease, and renal failure. Blood flow is impaired by diminished angiogenesis, which is the ability to grow a new blood vessels. Plaque formation in blood vessels, reduced elasticity of elastic arteries weakened venous valves.