Ageing and the heart

BASED on American Heart Association data published in the Circulation journal in 2002, studies from autopsies indicate that in those aged 70 years or more, blockage of heart arteries was present in about 50 per cent of women and 80 per cent of men. This elderly group accounts for up to 40 per cent of all heart attacks and 60 per cent of all deaths related to heart attack. Hence, heart disease will afflict a large majority of people as they grow older and its impact is larger in the older group. Understanding heart disease will help us to keep our heart "strong" as we grow older.

Recognising symptoms of heart disease

While most people dread the diagnosis of cancer more than the diagnosis of heart disease, it may be sobering to know that following the first heart attack, those in their middle age are likely to have a median survival of about 17 years in men and 13.3 years in women and this decreases significantly to 3.2 years in both sexes in those 75 years and above.