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№3' 2018

CARDIOLOGY

International Medical Journal, Vol. 24., Iss. 3, 2018, P. 5−10.

EARLY VASCULAR AGING: WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT IT AT PRESENT?

Penza State University, Russian Federation

Being one of the main target organs in cardiovascular diseases, the vessels (primarily arteries) have for a long time been included in the zone of increased interest of the medical community. The vascular system regularly passes through a specific set of biological changes associated with chronological aging. Aging increases the duration of exposure to damaging factors and involution of recovery mechanisms, contributing to cumulative damage to the blood vessels and accelerating development of atherosclerosis. However, atherosclerotic changes that develop at a relatively young age can result from early vascular aging (EVA). EVA depends not only on the influence of the known risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, smoking, family history of cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome), but also on the program originating from the prenatal period. Chronic kidney disease, inflammation, genetic and fetal programming, telomere biology, oxidative stress, salt dependence accelerate vascular aging. Thus, the study of the phenomenon of early vascular aging is a very promising direction of modern cardiology. Understanding the mechanisms of accelerated aging and timely identification of its markers will allow more effective treatment of the high−risk patients, thereby reducing the probability of cardiovascular catastrophes.

Key words: early vascular aging, risk factors, arterial stiffness, atherosclerosis.