The Effects of Ageing on the Human Body and its impacts on Pre-Hospital Management Introduction Ageing can be defined as the normal, predictable, and irreversible changes of different organ systems over time that ultimately leads to death (Aschkenasy & Rothenhaus, 2006). What’s more Aschkenasy & Rothenhaus (2006) state that physiological changes during the natural ageing process generally result in a loss of functional reserve within most organ systems. Ageing is accompanied by alterations of the body’s homeostatic response and can increase vulnerability to environmental stress and disease (Tortora & Derrickson, 2011). The World Health Organisation (WHO) (2014) has accepted the chronological age of 65 to define old age. In addition statistics from the
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In addition the increasing resistance placed on the heart increases the work required to pump the blood to various organs throughout the body (Stern, Behar, 2014). Structural changes within the heart itself can be associated with ageing even in those free of hypertension and other causes of increased afterload (Alberto, Radaelli, Centola 2003). Such structural changes include increased vascular stiffness (Steppan et al., 2011) and a mild increase in heart weight, reflecting some degree of left ventricular hypertrophy (Alberto, Radaelli, Centola 2003). This can lead to several diseases of the cardiovascular system including angina pectoris, heart failure and myocardial infarction. The electrical conduction system of the heart can also change during ageing. For example, the number of pacemaker cells in the sinoatrial node decreases substantially with ageing, which in turn leads to bradycardia and ultimately a decline in cardiac output (Caroline 2014 seek
In addition the increasing resistance placed on the heart increases the work required to pump the blood to various organs throughout the body (Stern, Behar, 2014). Structural changes within the heart itself can be associated with ageing even in those free of hypertension and other causes of increased afterload (Alberto, Radaelli, Centola 2003). Such structural changes include increased vascular stiffness (Steppan et al., 2011) and a mild increase in heart weight, reflecting some degree of left ventricular hypertrophy (Alberto, Radaelli, Centola 2003). This can lead to several diseases of the cardiovascular system including angina pectoris, heart failure and myocardial infarction. The electrical conduction system of the heart can also change during ageing. For example, the number of pacemaker cells in the sinoatrial node decreases substantially with ageing, which in turn leads to bradycardia and ultimately a decline in cardiac output (Caroline 2014 seek