Cardiovascular disease becomes more common as you age. In 1997, about 5,500 women and 12,700 men under age 45 died from cardiovascular disease. But between the ages of 45 and 64, that figure climbed to about 30,000 women and 71,000 men. From ages 65 and 84, it soared to about 334,500 women and 272,500 men. That is why it becomes increasingly important as you age to pay careful attention to diet, fitness and other factors that can prevent or reduce the risk of heart disease.

Years or decades of a poor diet take their toll as you age and fatty plaques that have collected along artery walls slow or impede blood flow. Older people also are less likely to exercise regularly, and more likely to have developed other cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes. The effects of age also are felt directly by the blood vessels and the heart. As blood vessels age, they become less flexible and thus make it harder for blood to move through them. The heart itself expands with age. As any muscle, the heart grows the more it is worked. After a lifetime of pumping, the heart may become enlarged. An enlarged heart is less able to pump blood efficiently than a firm smaller heart.