arteriosclerosis

A new rubber band snaps back briskly; an old, dried-out one has lost its give. Arteriosclerosis is the arterial version of that loss of elasticity: a broad term for the stiffening and thickening of artery walls, which makes them less able to expand and recoil with each heartbeat. It is partly a feature of normal aging and partly accelerated by disease.

The name is an umbrella. One important subtype, atherosclerosis, refers specifically to fatty plaque building up inside the artery; another, arteriolosclerosis, affects the smallest arteries and is closely tied to hypertension and diabetes. In everyday speech the words are sometimes blurred, but precisely, arteriosclerosis is the general category of hardened arteries.

Stiff arteries cannot cushion the surge of each heartbeat, so systolic pressure and pulse pressure rise, which helps explain why isolated systolic hypertension becomes common with age. Stiffening also raises the heart's workload over time. It cannot be fully reversed, but its progression is slowed by controlling blood pressure, not smoking, managing cholesterol and glucose, and staying physically active.