2. 1. Age-Related Cardiovascular Changes
a. Anatomical Changes
b. Physiological Changes
2. Age-Related Changes in the Respiratory
System
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3. Anatomical Changes
1) Increase in fatty tissues in the outermost layer
of the heart muscle.
2) Increase in the thickness of the left ventricular
wall.
3) Reduction in the amount of elastin in the
arterial walls and myocardium and an increase
in collagen deposition. These changes causes
increased stiffness.
4) Accumulation of lipofuscin, a pigment giving a
brown appearance to heart myocardium.
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4. 5) Decreased efficiency in contractile strength
of the heart muscle.
6) Thickening and sclerosis of the valve flaps
of the heart, especially the tricuspid and
mitral.
7) Significantly decreased number of
pacemaker cells with a concomitant
decrease in the S-A node rate.
8) Calcified, less elastic coronary arteries.
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5. Physiological Changes
1) Cardiac output declines with age.
2) Slight arrhythmias. At rest, heart rate in
people of older age is essentially the same
as in younger people. However, some
evidence suggests arrhythmias become
more common with age.
3) Longer recovery. Older heart muscle
requires a longer time to recover after each
heartbeat.
4) Blood Pressure increases as arterial
resistance is increased.
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6. 1) Calcification of the laryngeal and tracheal
cartilage occurs. Glandular cells in the large
airway are reduced, resulting in decreased
production of protective mucus. The cough
reflex is blunted, causing decreased effective
coughing.
2) With age, the number of functional alveoli
decreases. Overall, there is a decrease in the
surface area available for oxygen–carbon
dioxide exchange.
3) Presbylaryngis refers to aging changes in voice
pitch caused by thinning or aging of the vocal
cords.
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7. 4) Skeletal changes such as calcification of the
costal cartilages and weakened respiratory
muscles all affect respiratory functioning.
5) The lungs decrease in size and weight. They
have less elastic recoil. This results in an
increase in residual Volume.
6) The muscles responsible for inhalation and
exhalation lose strength and endurance as a
part of the aging process, and there is
increased stiffness of the chest wall.
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