Aortic Stiffness: A Major Risk Factor for Multimorbidity in the Elderly

Abstract

Multimorbidity, the coexistence of multiple health conditions in an individual, has emerged as one of the greatest challenges facing health services, and this crisis is partly driven by the aging population. Aging is associated with increased aortic stiffness (AoStiff), which in turn is linked with several morbidities frequently affecting and having disastrous consequences for the elderly. These include hypertension, ischemic heart disease, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, chronic kidney disease, anemia, ischemic stroke, and dementia. Two or more of these disorders (multimorbidity) often coexist in the same elderly patient and the specific multimorbidity pattern depends on several factors including sex, ethnicity, common morbidity routes, morbidity interactions, and genomics. Regular exercise, salt restriction, statins in patients at high atherosclerotic risk, and stringent blood pressure control are interventions that delay progression of AoStiff and most likely decrease multimorbidity in the elderly.