Age-Related Changes that Predispose to Syncope

Aging causes changes in blood pressure, heart rate and contractility, vascular and fluid control mechanisms that are important to understand when investigating and treating syncope in older people.

A young body has enormous reserve capabilities to respond to increased demands. There are multiple compensatory mechanisms which can provide rapid or sustained responses to changed conditions.

Aging however results in a loss of that reserve, to varying degrees. As systems decline, due to aging, disease or medical intervention (or all three), compensatory mechanisms are employed just to maintain resting conditions. Therefore there is less reserve available to respond to additional demands and the body's capacity to compensate may be insufficient.

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