The interplay between lifestyle and cardiovascular aging: mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities

Abstract

With the global trend of population aging, age-related diseases are increasing annually. The vascular system exhibits high sensitivity to aging, characterized by myocardial cell apoptosis, endothelial damage, oxidative stress, impaired autophagy, and chronic low-grade inflammatory responses. These factors significantly elevate the incidence of atherosclerosis, hypertension, myocardial infarction, and stroke, which are major cardiovascular diseases. Previous research has predominantly focused on the isolated impact of single lifestyle factors on cardiovascular aging, lacking a comprehensive framework that integrates multiple exposomes and their complex interactions. This review aims to reassess how the exposome factors, such as smoking, sedentary behavior, and the natural environment, interact and dysregulate core mechanisms such as oxidative stress and autophagy. These interactions collaboratively drive the aging of blood vessels, myocardium, and valves. We also propose targeted intervention strategies, providing insights for researchers investigating cardiovascular aging.

Keywords

Cardiovascular / lifestyle / aging / oxidative stress / inflammation / exposome

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