the-aps.org>meetings>eb

New Horizons in Cardiovascular Aging
Sponsored by APS Cardiovascular Section

The population in the Western world is aging. In the United States, the number of persons aged >65 years is expected to increase from approximately 35 million in 2000 to an estimated 71 million in 2030, and the number of persons aged >80 years is expected to increase from 9.3 million in 2000 to 19.5 million in 2030. In spite of unprecedented development in early diagnostic techniques and intervention treatments, cardiovascular disease will remain a significant health risk for the elderly. Epidemiological studies suggest that even in the absence of other risk factors (e.g. diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia hyperhomocysteinemia), advanced age itself significantly increases cardiovascular morbidity. A better understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the complex phenomenon of cardiovascular aging will likely lead to novel pharmacological treatments that prevent or delay the development of ischemic heart disease and stroke. Cardiovascular aging is characterized by a gradual deterioration of endothelial function and myocardial performance, which begins to accelerate after mid-life. The presentations in this symposium will address the role of oxidative and nitrosative stress, endothelial dysfunction, inflammatory mechanisms and endothelial apoptosis, explore gender differences in the process of cardiovascular aging and discuss possible treatments to reverse cardiovascular aging to a youthful phenotype.