Chapter 8 – Changes in Arterial Stiffness with Normal and Accelerated Aging

Arterial stiffness is a hallmark of arterial aging. As with all other organ systems, changes in the vascular system are induced over time. For the past decades numerous studies examining arterial stiffness with aging and disease have been published. This has in part been due to the development of noninvasive, easy-to-use techniques for measurement of arterial stiffness. Several studies have suggested that aging of the arteries is accelerated with certain diseases such as diabetes and renal disease and thus the concept of early vascular aging has emerged. Indeed it has been speculated whether the term biological age as opposed to chronological age might be of use in the clinic when trying to predict cardiovascular risk. In this chapter we present an introduction to the concept of normal and early vascular aging.