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Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the United States, and the numbers of people living with Diabetes are increasing. Since I’ve been alive (I’m under 40, but over 35 for those of you wondering..), the number of cases of diabetes have QUADRUPLED. Trends project that by 2050, 1 out of ever 3 American adults will have Diabetes.
Now that we’ve gotten through the basics (and if you missed it, you can read about it here), it’s time to look at what can go wrong within the cardiovascular system. First, there’s the changes we all experience due to normal aging. Decreased blood flow to the heart cells, fewer pacemaker cells and decreased cardiac elasticity will lead to decreased excitability (how easily the myocardium depolarizes to trigger a contraction), decreased maximum cardiac output and stroke volume (how much blood can be pumped out), less venous return (how much blood gets sent back), decreased maximum heart rate and increased resting blood pressure. Basically, the heart gets a little weaker, a little slower and a little less powerful over time.
In starting this Healthy Aging Essentials Series, it makes sense to start at the top - with the one organ you can’t live without. Despite it’s incontrovertible importance, the heart is actually a pretty simple device. The heart is a pump. It plays two roles; it pumps out oxygenated blood to all the organs in the body, and then collects the deoxygenated blood back and routes it into the lungs to get reoxygenated before sending it out again. Let’s look closer at this process.
In part III of the Cardiovascular system series, I want to look at the ways we can prevent or manage cardiovascular disease. But first, a few facts and figures:
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women, and across most ethnic and racial groups in the United States; 1 in 4 deaths is attributed to heart disease in America. Coronary Artery Disease is the most common type of cardiovascular disease and nearly 7% of adults over 20 are living with CAD.
The greatest risk factors for developing heart disease are high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking.
Other lifestyle factors that increase risk of developing heart disease include being overweight and obese, eating an unhealthy diet, being physically inactive and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. Diabetes is another risk factor, and while not technically a lifestyle choice, risk of diabetes is modifiable through lifestyle modification.