Which statement about aging and cardiovascular disease is true?

Which statement about aging and cardiovascular disease is true?

• A. The incidence increases with age
• B. The incidence decreases with age
• C. The incidence is unrelated to age
• D. The incidence is zero after age 80

Answer: (A)

Aging increases the risk of cardiovascular disease because the processes that damage blood vessels and the heart accumulate over a lifetime. Over time, arteries stiffen, lipid plaques grow, endothelial function declines, and blood pressure often rises. All of these changes raise the chance that a new cardiovascular event will occur, so the incidence of cardiovascular disease tends to climb as people get older. That’s why the statement claiming the incidence increases with age is true. The other ideas don’t fit: risk doesn’t decrease with age overall, it’s not unrelated to age, and new cases still occur after age 80, so the incidence isn’t zero. In population data, older groups consistently show higher rates of new cardiovascular events.

Aging increases the risk of cardiovascular disease because the processes that damage blood vessels and the heart accumulate over a lifetime. Over time, arteries stiffen, lipid plaques grow, endothelial function declines, and blood pressure often rises. All of these changes raise the chance that a new cardiovascular event will occur, so the incidence of cardiovascular disease tends to climb as people get older.

That’s why the statement claiming the incidence increases with age is true. The other ideas don’t fit: risk doesn’t decrease with age overall, it’s not unrelated to age, and new cases still occur after age 80, so the incidence isn’t zero. In population data, older groups consistently show higher rates of new cardiovascular events.