MODULE SUPPLEMENT: CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
Objectives

This module in the biology of aging series focuses on the cardiovascular system. Differentiating changes that occur normally with age from those that can be modified is extremely important because cardiovascular disease is a major health problem for older adults; heart disease is the leading diagnosis for short stay hospital visits for people aged 65 and older and is the leading cause of death (Lakatta, 2002b).

However, although it remains a major contributor to poor health and death in old age, the death rates from heart disease have declined over the last several decades, as have those from stroke. One reason for this decline is the emphasis being placed on controlling hypertension. These data suggest that we can have an impact on cardiovascular function and that risk factors can be modified. In addition, we now realize that some changes that we thought were part of normal aging are really the result of deconditioning and disease.

Given these data, the objectives of the current module are to:

1. Discuss changes in the structure and function of the cardiovascular system.
2. Compare and contrast alterations in cardiac function that occur with age at rest with those that occur during exercise or under stressful conditions.
3. Relate cardiovascular changes to relevant theories of aging and assess whether changes in the cardiovascular system lend support to such theories.
4. Discuss the importance of hypertension in older adults and consider the implications for health teaching.
5. Differentiate between systolic and diastolic dysfunction and discuss related clinical implications.

An understanding of basic cardiovascular anatomy and physiology is assumed.