Vascular biology of ageing-Implications in hypertension

Diagram demonstrating how vascular function and structure change with ageing and how this process impacts on development of hypertension. With increasing ageing and in the presence of compounding factors, such as environmental stressors, activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldsoterone system (RAAS) and/or activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), molecular and cellular processes in the vasculature are impaired leading to endothelial dysfunction, vascular remodelling and inflammation. These events contribute to vascular injury, which leads to increased total peripheral resistance (TPR) in small arteries and increased stiffness in large arteries, contributing to increased blood pressure, which itself promotes vascular injury.57