Cardiovascular disease and healthy ageing

Cardiovascular diseases are main cause of morbidity and mortality in the Western World. Cardiovascular disease increases in its prevalence with age and the burden of this condition is set to increase with an Ageing global population. There are many factors that impact cardiovascular disease risk. The aim of this brief commentary is to explore some of these factors; specifically, we will examine the role of social status, nutrition and, psychological stress in modulating cardiovascular disease risk. Our aim is to emphasise the multidimensional nature of this condition and to stress that a more complete understanding of the mechanisms which underpin its pathology can only be achieved by adopting an integrated approach which treats the progression of this disease in a more holistic fashion.