. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 Jan 31.

Published in final edited form as: J Am Coll Cardiol. 2010 Dec 28;57(1):9–17. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2010.08.623

Table 1.

Effects of Aging on the Heart

Cellular and Molecular Changes	Effect of Aging^*	Clinical Effects at Baseline	Clinical Effects After MI
Cardiomyocyte survival	↓	Impaired systolic function	LV dilation, eccentric remodeling, and systolic dysfunction
Cardiomyocyte proliferation	↓	Impaired systolic function	LV dilation, eccentric remodeling, and systolic dysfunction
Cardiac stem cell number	↓	Impaired systolic function	LV dilation, eccentric remodeling, and systolic dysfunction
Cardiomyocyte diameter	↑	LV hypertrophy	Increased wall stress, concentric remodeling
Myocardial fibrosis	↑	Diastolic dysfunction	Fibrosis of noninfarct zone, increased arrhythmias
Dysfunctional fibroblasts	↑	Diastolic dysfunction	Infarct expansion

Downward-pointing arrow (↓) indicates a decrease in effects; upward-pointing arrow (↑) indicates an increase.

LV = left ventricular; MI = myocardial infarction.