{"id":272148,"date":"2026-01-30T16:01:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T16:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/272148\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T16:01:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T16:01:10","slug":"what-happens-to-your-heart-as-you-get-older","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/272148\/","title":{"rendered":"What happens to your heart as you get older"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we mature, it\u2019s easy to notice the changes we can see \u2013 such as shifts in our skin, muscle tone, or even hair colour \u2013 but far less obvious are the changes happening beneath the surface, particularly in the heart.<\/p>\n

To mark Heart Health Month this February, we spoke with Dr Anish Bhuva, consultant cardiologist at HCA Healthcare UK The Wellington Hospital<\/a>, to find out what structural and functional changes the heart can undergo as we get older. He has also shared some practical advice on how to counter some of these effects to help keep your heart healthy and resilient well into later life.<\/p>\n

Heart muscle can decrease in size<\/p>\n

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\u201cAcross the whole body, muscles tend to lose their mass over time, and we are becoming more conscious about trying to reverse the speed of that decline,\u201d says Bhuva. \u201cThe heart, like any other muscle, also shows that process. There are also small changes in the heart muscle which means it becomes thinner with time as well. That usually doesn\u2019t cause much harm in itself, but it is a process that you can see with ageing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aortic stenosis<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s four valves in your heart and all of them open and close with every heartbeat over a person\u2019s lifetime,\u201d says Bhuva. \u201cThe purpose of the heart valves is to support efficient blood flow and stop it going backwards.\u201d<\/p>\n

But as you get older, your aortic valve can become narrowed which stops it from working properly, a condition called aortic stenosis, according to the British Heart Foundation\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver time, like an engine in a car, it does wear and tear,\u201d says Bhuva. \u201cThe heart valve can gradually become a bit more degenerated, you can get calcium build-up, and the valve can become much stiffer and thicker, which leads to difficulties opening properly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis can start to cause difficulties of blood flowing from the heart to the rest of the body, because it\u2019s blocking the flow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blood vessels and arteries can become stiffer<\/p>\n

\u201cA hallmark of ageing is when the aorta and blood vessels become stiffer,\u201d says Bhuva. \u201cWhen your vessels get stiffer, it increases the risk of stroke and heart disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heart rate can\u2019t increase as fast during physical activity<\/p>\n

\u201cYou might find that your heart rate can\u2019t increase as fast as it would when it was younger with physical activity,\u201d says Bhuva. \u201cMost people tolerate that, but for some people that can cause symptoms and problems which can be supported with a pacemaker.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wear and tear of the electrical wires within the heart<\/p>\n

\u201cWith time, you can also get wear and tear of the electrical wires within the heart,\u201d adds the cardiologist. \u201cThis usually doesn\u2019t cause any problems, but for some people, it can cause abnormally slow or abnormally fast heart rhythms. People may experience fluttering in their chest, dizziness or blacking out, or can experience no symptoms at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Increased risk of heart attacks<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe most common risk factor for a heart attack is age,\u201d says Bhuva. \u201cUnfortunately, heart attacks become more likely as you get towards middle age and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to be proactive and to identify what factors in your life might be accelerating the ageing, degenerative processes in your heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

What can we do to combat some of these effects?<\/p>\n

Quit smoking<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re worried about family history of heart disease, the first thing to do is to stop smoking,\u201d says Bhuva. \u201cSmoking damages the arteries and enables cholesterol plaque build-up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monitor your blood pressure and cholesterol levels<\/p>\n

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\u201cMake sure you are monitoring your cholesterol and blood pressure,\u201d advises Bhuva. \u201cOnce you get to the age of 40, we recommend a health check by your doctor to check your blood pressure, cholesterol and all the other common risk factors. Older adults should get this checked every year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eat a healthy diet<\/p>\n

\u201cYour five-a-day is super important, so make sure you are eating lots of fruit and veg,\u201d says Bhuva. \u201cTry to eat less red meat and more oily fish, as that is really good for cholesterol. Also, try to minimise your consumption of artificial sugars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Move your body<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe most beneficial thing you can do is to start moving in whatever way you can,\u201d says Bhuva. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to do a marathon every year, just small levels of exercise like walking every day can be really beneficial.<\/p>\n

\u201cExercise can help slow down the ageing process in the cardiovascular system in many, many different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As we mature, it\u2019s easy to notice the changes we can see \u2013 such as shifts in our…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":272149,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[103,109038,2685,4037,133094,61,60,36129],"class_list":{"0":"post-272148","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-health-lifestyle","10":"tag-heart","11":"tag-heart-health","12":"tag-heart-health-month","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-older"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/272149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}