A Study on Evaluation of Arteriosclerosis in the Aged

1. Aortic Disease in the Aged

Abstract

This study was conducted for the purpose of evaluating the relationship between aortic disease (area and atherosclerosis) and age, sex, and arterial disease in the aged. One hundred and twenty-eight consecutively necropsied aortas of the cases aged 50 to 93 years were determined by cutting open each standard segment of the aorta longitudinally, after formalin fixation, pinning it flat, measuring its internal circumference and length, and tracing its outline of the aortic area, radiopaque calcified lesions and raised atherosclerotic lesions for measurement with planimetry and point-counting method. Following results were obtained in both sexes.
1) The area of the standard aortic segment increased in size progressively with aging. Both the length and circumference of the aorta were also shown to increase, especially in the circumference of the thoracic aorta and in the cases after the age of 70.
2) The area of the aortic calcified lesions showed close correlations with each of advancing age, increasing aortic area affected and % aortic area affected by raised atherosclerotic lesions. The area of the aortic calcification increased significantly in the cases after the age of 70 with large individual variability in seveirty.
3) Both aortic area affected and % area affected by raised atherosclerotic lesions showed positive correlations with each of aging and the area of the standard aortic segment, especially a better correlation with the latter. The extent of raised aherosclerotic lesions of the aorta increased significantly in the cases after the age of 70 with large individual variability in severity.
4) There were no obvious correlations between heart weight and area of the standard aortic segment, and aortic raised atherosclerotic lesions.
5) Both mean area and mean % area of raised atherosclerotic lesions of the aorta were remarkably greater in the cases of the group of non-inflammatory arterial disease than in cases with non-arterial disease. However, a noticeable individual variability was demonstratedin both groups and sexes. The mean aortic area, which was proportional to the advancing age, showed no significant difference in these two groups.
6) The mean areas of both aortic calcification and raised atherosclerotic lesions ran parallel to the severity of postmortem radiopaque coronary calcified lesions in both sexes, but marked individual variability was noted in severity. The mean age proportional to the mean area of standard aortic segment was found to run parallel to the severity of coronary and aortic arteriosclerosis in men but not in women.