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Changes of Myocardial Structure with Aging

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Gerontology

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Abstract

The functional capacity of the heart declines with advancing age (Gerstenblith et al. 1976; Lakatta 1979; Lakatta und Yin 1982). The diminished cardiac adaptability to stress in senescence could provide an explanation why heart insufficiency and cardiac death occur in older people even upon only a minor increase in demand (Wei and Gersh 1987). Most of the morphological studies of the hearts of old people therefore have the aim of finding a structural correlate for the reduced functional capacity in old age. A whole range of findings on the hearts of elderly humans have been compiled (Pomerance 1968; Linzbach 1972): In autopsy studies, an increasing degree of coronary atherosclerosis was found with advancing age (Linzbach 1972) as well as increased fibrosis of the small intramural cardiac vessels (Rahlf 1980). Typical age-related changes of the cardiac valves are calcification of the mitral valve ring and the aortic valves (Pomerance 1967,1970; Pomerance et al. 1978; Waller and Roberts 1983). Mitral valve prolapse and mucoid degeneration are further alterations which are observed more frequently in senescent people (Pomerance 1969).

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Author notes

  1. H. Frenzel

    Present address: Institut für Pathologie, Städtischen Klinikums Karlsruhe, Postfach 6280, D-7500, Karlsruhe 1, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pathologisches Institut, Universität Düsseldorf, Moorenstr. 5, D-4000, Düsseldorf 1, Germany

    H. Frenzel, R. Zweihoff, B. Schwartzkopff & K.-F. Bürrig

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  1. H. Frenzel
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  2. R. Zweihoff
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  3. B. Schwartzkopff
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  4. K.-F. Bürrig
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Lehrstuhl für Innere Medizin — Gerontologie, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Heimerichstr. 58, D-8500, Nürnberg, Germany

    Dieter Platt

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© 1989 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Frenzel, H., Zweihoff, R., Schwartzkopff, B., Bürrig, KF. (1989). Changes of Myocardial Structure with Aging. In: Platt, D. (eds) Gerontology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-74996-4_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-74996-4_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-74998-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-74996-4

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