Question

The pumping capacity of heart in 70 years old person as compared to 30 years old person is
A.35%
B. 50%
C. 65%
D. 55%

Answer 1

Hint: The pumping capacity of heart changes with age. The heart beats faster during cycling, exercise, running etc. During this time, the pumping capacity increases.

Complete Answer:
- As a person grows in age his heart grows slightly in size and its arteries stiffens making the heart not as functional as it was before.
- Researchers found that each year as people age, the time it takes for their heart muscles grows longer, by 2 percent.
- Test results were obtained from study participants who had undergone MRI - which measures individual muscle segment changes with each heartbeat. As the age increases stiffening of the heart walls causes the left ventricle to not fill as well and can sometimes lead to heart failure (called diastolic heart failure or heart failure with preserved ejection fraction), especially in older people with other diseases such as high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes.

- When in rest the hearts of older people function in almost the same way as a younger heart, except the heart rate (number of times the heart beats within a minute) is slightly lower. Also, during exercise, older people's heart rate does not increase as much as in younger people.

- The walls of the arteries and arterioles become thicker making less blood to flow through the arteries. Elastic tissue within the walls of the arteries and arteriole is lost. Together, these changes make the vessels stiffer and less resilient. Since the arteries and arterioles are less elastic, blood pressure cannot adjust quickly when people stand, and older people are at risk for dizziness or in some cases fainting when they stand up suddenly.

Hence option C: 65% is the correct answer.

Note: The heart pumps blood 65% less efficiently in 70 years old in comparison to 30 years old as the heart wall and arteries thickens in size.