Healthy Ageing Flashcards
Pulmonary changes structural
- loss of alveolar elastic recoil (⬆️ residual lung vol.)
- alterations chest wall structure
- decreased respiratory muscle strength
- loss of alveolar SA
- loss of pulmonary blood vol.
Pulmonary changes functional
- VEmax ⬇️
- submax VO2 ➡️ VE higher
- ventilatory equivalent higher
- ⬇️ exploratory flow rate
- ⬇️ forced exploratory vol in 1s
- ⬇️ max vol ventilation
- ⬆️ residual vol
- ⬇️ vital capacity
Musculoskeletal changes
- osteoporosis➡️bones more fragile
- bones affected less dense so fractures more likely
- invertebral discs shrink-compressed discs and loss of bone mass leads to decrease in body height
Define chronological age
Age expressed relative to time (yrs)
Define biological age
Functional age, based on physiologic conditioning - may be altered by maintaining regular PA
Definition of ageing
The process of growing old, involving the inability to reverse the gradual deterioration of cells important to the life process
Define life expectancy
The average, statistically predicted length of life for an individual
- avg in dev. Countries = 71 for men and 78 for women
Important differences in death causes in men and women
CHD
Men - 16%
Women - 10%
Dementia & Alzheimer’s
Men - 6%
Women - 12%
CVD slightly higher in men
What happens to oestrogen levels?
- Levels are decreased following the menopause putting post-menopausal women at increased risk of dev CVD
- Reduction in vascular function in post-menopausal women compared to younger women (Harvey et al. 2014)
Benefits of oestrogen
- helps maintain body temp and delay memory loss
- helps regulate the production of cholesterol, decreasing build up of plaque in the coronary arteries
- helps preserve bone density
CV structural changes
- left ventricle hypertrophy
- ⬆️deposits of collagen and lipid in myocardial cells = stiffer ventricle
- arteriosclerosis - hardening, loss of elasticity of arteries = build up of fatty plaques in arteries
- blood vessels ⬆️in size, dilated, artery walls thicken = less compliance
CV functional changes
- resting HR no change
- exercise HR ⬇️
- HRmax ⬇️
- Q⬇️ 1% per year
- VO2 ⬇️
- VO2 max ⬇️
- SV ⬇️
How can exercise help?
- age related decline can be offset by lifelong ex (Bhella et al. 2014)
- reduction in aerobic capacity can be altered by aerobic training in the elderly (Ogawa et al 1992)
Cardiac effects of exercise
- prevention of age related diastolic dysfunction
- LV ejection fraction ⬆️
- arrhythmia prevention
- physiologic hypertrophy to training
- prevention of valve degradation
Vascular effects of exercise
- aortic stiffness ⬇️
- aortic compliance ⬆️
- NO production ⬆️
- endothelial vasodilation⬆️
- oxidative stress ⬇️
- endothelial function⬆️
- capillary vessel formation⬆️
- venular capillaries ⬆️
