The American Heart Association states that in 2006, there were 5,800,000 people in the United States with heart failure. Heart failure is an end-stage disease, where a sick heart that can no longer keep up with the demands of the body. The heart cannot pump enough blood to the system in order to meet metabolic demands. The causes of heart failure in the elderly are multifold.
Heart Attack
According to MayoClinic, coronary artery disease is the most common cause of heart failure. As patients age, they develop atherosclerotic plaques in the coronary arteries. These arteries are the blood supply to the heart muscle, delivering oxygen and nutrients. When these vessels become blocked with atherosclerotic plaques, blood supply is impaired and the heart suffers from lack of oxygen, otherwise known as ischemia. When the arteries are completely blocked, prolonged ischemia occurs and heart muscle dies. Heart muscle that has been destroyed by ischemia can not pump effectively. When the heart cannot pump effectively, fluid backs up in the vascular system and leaks into the lungs and the extremities causing congestive heart failure and peripheral edema.
Hypertension
Hypertension is a disease that progressively worsens with age if left untreated. Because the heart must pump much harder against resistant arteries in high blood pressure, the back pressure causes dilation of the left ventricle of the heart. The left ventricle is responsible for pumping blood into the aorta. Eventually the ventricle becomes stiff and loses the elasticity necessary for forceful contractions. When the muscle is stiff or weak, it cannot move blood into the system.
Heart Valves
The heart valves age, and over time, the elderly may suffer with leaky valves. The aortic valve is particularly susceptible to the effects of aging, and the diameter of the valve can become narrow. Narrowing of the opening of the valve does not allow blood to be pumped out of the chamber of the heart, and some blood remains behind. Eventually this leftover blood not only stretches the ventricle so that it doesn't pump effectively but backs up into the system, causing congested lungs and peripheral edema.
Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy is a term used to describe an enlarged heart that pumps poorly. In the elderly, cardiomyopathy can be caused by alcohol abuse, viruses that attack the heart, lupus and thyroid problems.
