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Age-Related Cardiac Changes

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Anatomic Basis of Echocardiographic Diagnosis

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Abstract

Like all visceral organs, the heart ages. The fibrous skeleton of the heart becomes sclerotic and calcifies, the valve closing margins thicken, the aorta dilates and tilts rightward on the interventricular septum making the latter seem prominent, the ventricles decrease in size, the left atrium enlarges, valves calcify and/or become myxomatous and amyloid may deposit in the heart.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Heart Institute Division of Cardiology, University of Ottawa, Ruskin Street 40, K1Y 4W7, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Dr. Kwan-Leung Chan

  2. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus Carling Ave. 1053, K1Y 4E9, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Dr. John P. Veinot

Authors
  1. Dr. Kwan-Leung Chan
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  2. Dr. John P. Veinot
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Correspondence to Kwan-Leung Chan .

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Chan, KL., Veinot, J.P. (2010). Age-Related Cardiac Changes. In: Anatomic Basis of Echocardiographic Diagnosis. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-387-9_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-387-9_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-84996-386-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-84996-387-9

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