Cardiovascular. A number of physiologic changes
occur in the aging heart that may help to explain some
of the more common age-associated cardiac disorders.2
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One of the most important is delayed left ventricular
filling. Between the ages of 20 and 80, a 50% decline
occurs in left ventricular filling,7
which becomes more
dependent on active filling late in diastole during
atrial contraction.7
This decline is due to thickening
and stiffening of the left ventricular wall. The clinical
result of these ventricular changes is diastolic heart
failure.2
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