Evaluating arterial aging in the clinical setting: a tentative agenda for critical appraisal

Abstract

Population aging is a worldwide phenomenon. However, the cultural attitude to older adults has not yet incorporated understanding of the effects of the aging process. The arterial system is affected by the aging process, which is responsible for the great majority of mortality, morbidity and disability in older people. We briefly describe how the aging process affects large arteries and their properties that are easily measurable noninvasively, and suggest a tentative agenda for solving the critical problems that have hampered the diffusion of routine assessment of arterial aging in the clinical setting.